LIBRARY 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 


PRESENTED  BY 

DR.  HERBERT  FINGARETTE 
U.C.S. B. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/firstworldwar19100repi 


THE    FIRST    WORLD    WAR 


THE 
FIRST  WORLD  WAR 

1914-1918 


PERSONAL    EXPERIENCES 

OF 

LIEUT.-GOL.  G.  a  COURT  REPINGTON 

C.  M.  G. 

COMMANDER  OF  THE  ORDER  OF  LEOPOLD 
OFFICBR  OF  THE  LEGION  OF  HONOUR 

VOLUME  II 


BOSTON    AND    NEW    YORK 

HOUGHTON    MIFFLIN    COMPANY 

1920 


Printed  in  Great  Britain 


NT  A 
SAN?A  BAJRBABA  " 


CONTENTS   OF   VOL.    II 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  GRAND  FLEET,  AUGUST  1917 


A  letter  from  General  Robertson — Colonel  Fagalde — What  pos- 
terity may  think  of  us — The  Russian  Armies  begin  to  break  up — 
Lord  Percy  on  our  strategy — Sir  Edward  Carson's  reasons  for 
leaving  the  Admiralty — Visit  to  Glynde — Colonel  Pollen  on  Sir 
A.  Murray's  campaign — The  Flanders  offensive — Visit  to  Lord 
and  Lady  Mar  at  Alloa — Lunch  at  Admiralty  House,  Rosyth 
— First  view  of  the  Grand  Fleet — The  microphone  stations — 
Admiral  Beatty's  views — Lord  Hardinge  on  the  War  Cabinet 
system — Visit  to  Admiral  Beatty  on  the  Queen  Elizabeth — Our 
slight  superiority  in  battleships — Ignorance  of  military  arrange- 
ments— Scouting  service — Admiral  Beatty  refuses  to  give  assur- 
ances that  he  will  arrive  in  any  stated  time  at  the  place  where  the 
enemy  invades  us — A  look  round  the  Q.  E. — Scapa  and  the  Forth 
— The  submarine  K7 — Why  the  submarine  menace  was  not 
understood — Our  tonnago  losses — Visit  to  Admiral  Pakenham  on 
the  Lion — Lord  Hardinge  on  the  action  of  the  Cabinet  after  my 
divulgation  of  the  Kaiser's  letter  to  Lord  Tweedmouth  in 
1908 — King  Edward's  visit  to  Germany — Lord  Hardinge  has  to 
inform  the  Kaiser  of  the  Cabinet's  Minute — The  Paris  Embassy 
— Return  to  London     ........     1-26 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  HARWICH  NAVAL  FORCES,  SEPTEMBER  1917 

Sir  W.  Robertson  on  the  horrible  Low  Country  positions — General 
Petain's  victory  at  Verdun — Italian  successes — The  American 
arrivals — Colonel  Mola  on  Italy's  need  of  steel — A  talk  with 
Russian  friends  on  Russian  affairs — A  bad  raid  on  Chatham — 
Down  to  Parkeston  Quay  to  visit  Commodore  Sir  R.  Tyrwhitt 
— The  Centaur — System  of  naval  command  on  the  coast — 
Tyrwhitt's  forces — German  and  British  minefields— They  fail  to 
stop  German  submarines,  but  they  stop  us — The  Dutch  trado 
convoy — The  new  light-cruiser  class — Tyrwhitt's  formation 
while  cruising — The  Porto  Hying  ships-  An  6M  ly  '  '<  >un<il  of  War 
at  tho  Admiralty — Tho  Commodoro  not  informed  about  our 
military  arrangements  .......    -7— 44 


vi  THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 

CHAPTER  XXV 

EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

PAOES 

The  attempt  of  General  Komiloff  to  seize  power  in  Russia — The 
Luxburg  case — The  Russian  railways — The  internal  state  of 
Russia — A  visit  to  Wilton  and  Cranborne — The  hospital  at 
Wilton — Charm  of  Cranborne — Our  troops  in  Flanders  half 
drowned — Mr.  Montagu  and  Sir  Herbert  Cox  on  Indian  affairs — 
Raising  of  fresh  Indian  forces — A  row  at  a  Cabinet  meeting 
between  Lord  Kitchener  and  Mr.  Lloyd  George — A  talk  with  Mr. 
Balfour,  General  Smuts,  and  Sir  W.  Robertson — General  Maurice 
on  the  situation — The  question  of  the  transfer  of  German  forces 
West  in  the  spring — Probable  rate  of  arrival — Eastern  cam- 
paigns— Need  of  a  War  Chair  at  some  University  to  teach  bud- 
ding statesmen — Colonel  Fagalde's  ideas — The  aeroplanes  at 
Gibraltar— Visit  to  Wilton— Talks  with  Sir  W.  Robertson  .         .  45-62 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE,  OCTOBER  1917 

Major  Comber  on  the  French — A  conversation  with  General  Foch — 
Government  and  Censorship — A  conversation  with  Marshal  Joff re 
— The  question  of  an  Inter-Allied  Staff — Marshal  Joffre's  Con- 
ferences at  Chantilly — His  plans  for  1916  and  1917 — His  opinions 
about  American  assistance — M.  Painleve  on  the  war  and  French 
politics — Question  of  the  British  taking  over  more  front — A 
conversation  with  M.  Clemenceau — His  opinions  on  some  French 
generals — On  French,  English,  and  Germans  under  punishment 
— On  the  staleness  of  the  French  troops — On  French  shortage  of 
wheat — On  a  new  German  peace  offer — On  French  casualties — 
M.  Clemenceau's  life — M.  Herbette's  views  on  our  policy  towards 
Austria — A  smash  on  my  way  to  Compiegne— A  conversation 
with  General  Petain — The  question  of  fronts  occupied — Two  con- 
tingencies for  1918 — Difficult  French  position — General  Petain's 
latest  boutade — Slow  progress  of  American  training — Colonel 
de  Cointet's  estimate  of  the  German  situation — Views  of  our 
mission  at  the  G.Q.G.  —  Motor  to  Chaumont  —  General 
Pershing's  Staff — The  situation  of  the  Americans  described — 
They  are  impressed  by  our  Army — General  Pershing's  views 
of  the  position — The  American  troops — Major  Robert  Bacon's 
views — Domremy — A  talk  with  General  Trenchard — Radingham 


CONTENTS  vii 

l'AOKS 

Chateau — Brig.-General  Charteris  on  our  strategy — General 
Plunier  on  Flanders  fighting — General  Home  at  Ranchicourt — 
Talks  at  G.H.Q.  at  Blendecques— Sir  Philip  Sassoon— F.M.  Sir 
D.  Haig's  views — General  Kiggell  on  strategy — Strong  objections 
to  take  over  more  of  the  line  .....  63-104 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

Explanation  of  our  G.H.Q.'s  doubts — A  Zepp.  raid  near  Maryon — 
General  Gourkho  on  Russia — General  Petain's  victory  at  Mal- 
maison — Colonel  Fagalde  on  General  Cadorna's  reasons  for  stop- 
ping his  attack — The  Austro-German  attack  on  Italy — British 
support  sent — Letters  from  Sir  Charles  Monro,  Sir  Edmund 
Allenby,  Sir  Stanley  Maude,  and  General  Briggs — Description 
of  events  in  India,  Palestine,  Mesopotamia,  and  Salonika — 
Inspired  Press  attacks  on  the  General  Staff — Italian  losses — 
General  Allenby's  victory  at  Gaza  and  Bcersheba — Difficulties 
with  the  Times — The  Supreme  Political  Council  and  permanent 
central  military  Committee  created  in  Paris — General  Robert- 
son's opinion — War  by  Committee  bound  to  fail — Mr.  Lloyd 
George's  Paris  speech — Ho  reads  out  the  new  Agreement  in  the 
House  of  Commons — Our  deficit  in  strengths  and  total  losses 
during  the  war 105-134 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

Causes  of  our  shortage  of  strengths — Reasons  for  Italian  defeat — A 
bilk  with  M.  Venizelos — Death  of  Sir  Stanley  Maude — Mr.  Lloyd 
George  on  the  Rapallo  Agreement — An  address  on  the  war  to 
the  1900  Club— Colonel  House — A  visit  to  Wilton — Russian 
affaii  -  <  leneral  Byng's  victory  at  Cambrai — Lord  Lansdowne'a 
letter — A  set-back  at  Cambrai — Strength  of  our  forces  in  different 
theatres — '  Political  strategy  ' — A  letter  from  General  Allenby 
describing  his  victory — The  German  movement  westward  in  its 
tii  it  stages — Admiral  Wemyaa  suooeeda  Admiral  JeHiooe  aa  First 
Lord  F.M.  Sir  \>-  Qaig  and  General  Petain  arrange  for 
mutual  .support  -General  Lawrence  becomes  Chief  of  Stafi  in 
1'i.nv  •!.■  Why  Admiral  Jelliooe  was  relieved — Mistakes  in  calcu- 
lation of  American  transport — A  row  in  the  War  Cabinet  about 
aetoplaiiei  War  Cabinet  procedure  after  a  raid  on  London — 
IV    •     manipulationa      Defensive    arrangements     in     Franco — 

Kavanaghontheoavalry    Bndofadramatioyear    .        .        135-164 


viii  THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 

CHAPTER  XXIX 
THE  ARMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN.  JANUARY  1918 

PAGES 

The  Laraingtons  and  the  deaf — Trade  Union  and  woman  labour — 
Northcliffe's  Viscountcy — Irish  coast  watched  by  Sinn  Feiners — 
German  movement  West — German  losses  in  1917 — The  War 
Cabinet  hopeless — Reason  why  the  Home  Defence  standard  was 
lowered — Fallacious  arguments — Sir  Arthur  Paget's  opinion — 
Talk  with  F.M.  Sir  Douglas  Haig  at  Eastcott— He  is  114,000 
infantry  under  strength — We  must  either  make  war  or  peace — 
Mr.  Lloyd  George's  treatment  of  Sir  D.  Haig — Our  position  de- 
scribed— Reasons  for  food  shortage — Questions  to  be  discussed 
at  the  next  Allied  War  Council — The  Versailles  military  Com- 
mittee wish  to  transfer  our  main  effort  to  Turkey — Supposed 
plans — Wild  Eastern  schemes — Haig  compelled  to  take  over 
more  front — The  War  Cabinet  stint  men,  and  our  divisions  have 
to  bo  reduced — The  situation  in  Southern  Russia — An  inspec- 
tion of  our  S.E.  coast  defences — Richborough— I  resign  my  posi- 
tion on  the  Times — Admiral  Lord  Jellicoe  on  invasion — His 
treatment  and  dismissal        .         .         .         .         .         .         165-191 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

Clemenceau  to  be  warned  of  the  situation  of  our  effectives — General 
Petain's  arrangements  for  defence — The  French  expect  220  Ger- 
man divisions  to  attack — A  talk  with  the  French  Ambassador — I 
join  the  Morning  Post — A  look  round  at  Aldershot — My  article 
of  Jan.  24,  exposing  the  failure  of  the  War  Cabinet  to  maintain 
the  Army — Mr.  Gwynne's  courage — A  dinner  at  the  Inner 
Temple — An  offer  to  me  from  America — Clemenceau  asks  me  to 
go  to  Paris — Journey  to  Paris — An  Allied  luncheon — Reports 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  War  Council— Disunity  of  Command 
— Secret  diplomacy  in  Switzerland — A  German  air  raid  on  Paris 
— Talk  with  M.  Painleve — Conversation  with  M.  Clemenceau — 
The  story  of  the  War  Council — A  luncheon  with  M.  Briand — 
We  discuss  the  events  of  the  war — A  conversation  with  General 
Petain — His  views  of  the  War  Council  and  the  situation — 
Colonel  de  Cointet's  opinions — General  Leman — M.  Roman 
Dmowski — The  'Rubicon'  papers — A  race  of  monkeys — 
General  Peyton  March 192-227 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  XXXI 
THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

PAQZS 

Return  to  London — My  article  «->n  the  War  Council — The  Tories 
and  Mr.  Lloyd  George — Summoned  to  Bow  Street — The  case 
part  heard — Dismissal  of  Sir  W.  Robertson — The  hearing  con- 
cluded— Shoals  of  letters  of  approval  and  sympathy — General 
Robertson  on  these  events — A  letter  from  General  Allenby — 
The  Blind  Officers'  Home — Visit  to  Ugbrooke  Park — Sir  F.  E. 
Smith  on  America — Mr-.  Arthur  Henderson's  views — Bombs 
and  parties — Admiral  Sims  on  the  U-boats — General  Dessino's 
uninvited  guests — Sir  W.  Robertson  on  the  late  War  Council — 
Conversation  with  Mr.  Asquitb.  on  the  military  situation,  March 
16— Another  talk  with  Mr.  Arthur  Henderson  .  .         228-253 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

The  German  offensive  of  March  21  begins — The  ninety-three  German 
divisions  against  the  British — General  Crozier  on  American 
transport  and  guns — Disquieting  reports — A  large  claim  of  cap- 
tured prisoners  and  guns  by  the  Germans — Mr.  Bonar  Law's 
unfortunate  prediction — The  battle  continues  to  go  against  us 
— Our  Army  back  on  the  lines  of  1916 — Germans  claim  45,000 
prisoners  and  1000  guns— Our  men  fighting  one  against  three — 
The  War  Cabinet's  death-bed  repentance— Our  losses  110,000  in 
a  m  k  General  Foefa  appointed  Coordinator — A  conversation 
with  General  Robertson — The  position  of  our  reserves  before  the 
battle— The  Brencb  support  us — The  new  Man-Power  Bill — 
( 'clonel  l'agaldeon  the  situation — General  Foch's  optimism — Sir 
•I  ibert  Gough  on  the  defeat  of  his  5th  Army  by  overwhelming 
numbers — A  fresh  German  attack  at  Armentieres  succeeds — 
General  Trenohard's  dismissal — Mr.  Lloyd  George's  excuses  for 
our  defeats — The  position  in  Ku-wi a  General  Fochhasuo  troop 
yet  for  a  great  counter-attack — Sir  Alan  Johnstone  and  the 
H  jiie  Legation  M.  (ambon  on  Japanese  intervention  Lord 
Rotherm' p's  resignation  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  Sir  Edward 
I  so  on  the  Momimg  Ps  I  and  the  Timet— General  Allenby 
on  the  ohange  of  policy  in  the  East       ....        264^286 


x  THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 

CHAPTER  XXXIII 
ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND,  APRIL  1918 

PA.QES 

A  visit  to  Admiral  Sir  Roger  Keyes  and  the  Dover  patrol — The 
story  of  the  blocking  operations  at  Zeebrugge  and  Ostend — 
The  audacious  assault  on  the  Zeebrugge  mole — A  deathless 
story — The  question  of  the  French  Channel  ports — Admiral 
Reyes's  '  graveyard  ' — A  night  at  the  National  Sporting  Club — 
The  Marquis  Imperiali  on  Prince  Lichnowsky — Talks  with  H.  G. 
Wells  and  M.  Huysmans — The  Duke  of  Connaught's  trip  to 
Palestine — Stories  from  the  Holy  Land — M.  Coleyn's  treatment 
in  England — General  Maurice  exposes  the  Government — The 
Unionists  decide  to  support  Mr.  Lloyd  George  in  the  Maurice 
debate — Government  majority  187  in  consequence — The  figures 
which  justify  Maurice — Our  losses  now  258,000 — Mr.  Otto  Kahn 
on  President  Wilson — Colonel  Slocum  on  the  good  comradeship 
of  America — Admiral  Keyes  on  his  blocking  operations — Lord 
French  arrests  the  Sinn  Fein  leaders      ....         286-308 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES, 
MAY  AND  JUNE  1918 

Third  Phase  of  the  German  Offensive — The  Rheims-Soissons  front 
assaulted — Loss  of  the  Chemin  des  Dames  position — General 
Mahon  on  Ireland — The  great  effort  of  America  in  troop- 
transport — The  Germans  claim  175,000  prisoners  and  2000  guns 
since  March  21 — A  visit  to  Polesden-Lacey — Some  interesting 
conversations — The  Fourth  Phase  of  the  German  attack — 
The  Montdidier-Noyon  front  assailed — A  visit  to  the  Abbey 
House,  Colchester — Expeditions  to  Archangel  and  Vladivostok 
— The  Austrian  offensive  against  Italy  begins  June  16 — The 
attack  repulsed — Mr.  Montagu  on  India's  military  affairs — The 
first  million  Americans  arrive — My  memorandum  on  the  war 
for  the  Colonial  Premiers — Conversations  at  Coombe — Admiral 
Sims  on  the  U-boat  war — Major  Robert  Bacon's  table  of  past 
and  future  American  arrivals— General  Maurice's  views  on  the 
Western  front 309-341 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  XXXV 
THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GERMANS,  JULY  1918 

TAOEK 

The  Fifth  Phase  of  the  German  offensive — They  attack  on  the 
Marne  and  in  Champagne  on  a  lifty-five-mile  front — They  cross 
the  Marne,  but  are  beaten  in  Champagne — General  Foch  starts 
a  great  counter-attack  between  the  Marne  and  the  Aisne — Many 
German  prisoners  and  guns  taken — State  of  the  German  divisions 
— The  murder  of  the  Tsar — Tragic  accounts  of  Russia — F.M. 
Sir  D.  Haig  announces  that  the  crisis  is  past — There  are  now 
1,250,000  Americans  in  France — Our  Armies  have  had  half  a 
million  casualties  and  have  lost  1000  guns — Sir  H.  Rawlinson's 
and  General  Debeney's  Armies  win  a  brilliant  victory  on  August  8 
— Some  24,000  prisoners  and  300  guns  taken  by  us  in  two  days 
— A  conversation  with  M.  Kerensky — Threatened  reduction  of 
the  number  of  our  divisions — The  Allies  continue  to  advance 
and  win  battles — Lieut.  Pernot's  views.  .  .  .         342-359 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 

THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS,  AUGUST 
AND  SEPTEMEER  1918 

Journey  to  France — Major-General  Salmond  on  Air  Force  ques- 
tions— To  G.H.Q.  at  Roulers — Infantry  strengths  the  main 
anxiety — Our  attacks  doing  well — Value  of  our  artillery — 
Visits  to  Sir  Henry  Home  and  Sir  Julian  Byng — Conversation 
with  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson — The  German  Armies  now  in  front 
of  us — A  conversation  in  Paris  over  politico-military  happen- 
ings— Machines  versus  Men — At  Marshal  Foch's  Headquarters — 
The  Marshal  on  the  course  of  operations — His  views  of  things 
Deeded— The  Marshal's  manner  when  in  a  chaffing  mood — To 
Provine,  tin-  French  ('•.(.}.('•.  -Conversation  at  lunch— General 
lVt.iin'a  difficulties — His  views  of  the  situation — Paris  gossip — 
Jewish  influence — A  fairy  story — A  conversation  on  art — M. 
Berthelot  at  Baron  Maurice  Rothschild's       .        .        .        360-387 

CHAPTER  XXXVII 

THE  ST.  M1HIKL  OPERATION,  SEPTEMBER  1918 
Jooraej  to  Chatmotrt    American  i  rengths — Visit  to  <  lenecal  Tren- 

ohaid   ami    tin-  I.A.I''.-    Trenohacd'l  Views — Visit  to  General  do 

Castelnau — Talk  with  the  American  1 1. y.  staff — The  American 


xii  THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 

PAGES 

Training  Schools  at  Langres — American  military  principles  and 
practices — The  St.  Mihiel  operation — Motor  to  Ligny-en- 
Barrois — Troops  in  the  battle — A  successful  attack — Visit  to  the 
battlefield — A  cage  of  German  prisoners — Return  to  Paris — A 
German  air  raid  on  Paris — General  Wagstaff  on  St.  Mihiel — A 
conversation  with  Clemenceau — A  French  Yellow  Book — A  talk 
about  Palestine — Good  news  from  the  British  Armies — General 
Henderson — Tank  enthusiasts — Murder  of  the  Tsaritsa  and  her 
daughters — French  industry  after  the  war — Commodore  Heaton- 
EUis  on  naval  affairs 388-415 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN,  AUTUMN  1918 

Journey  to  Italy — The  British  Mission  near  Padua — Headquarters  of 
the  British  Army  at  Lonedo — Talk  with  General  Gathorne- 
Hardy — The  military  situation  in  Italy — Visit  to  the  Comando 
Supremo — Talks  with  Generals  Diaz  and  Badoglio — Visit  to  the 
Duke  of  Aosta — The  new  Italian  liaison  service — The  French 
Mission — The  Bulgarians  ask  for  an  Armistice — French  and 
Italian  efforts  during  the  war — Italian  strengths — Journey  to 
Rome — Talks  with  Sir  Rennell  Rodd  and  the  Embassy  Staff — 
Sir  Courtauld  Thomson — Distribution  of  Italian  and  Austrian 
Armies — Mr.  Harris  on  Vatican  affairs — An  Italian  painter — 
Talks  with  General  Zupelli — A  visit  to  the  Vatican — Talks  with 
Cardinal  Gasparri  and  Monsignore  Cerretti — Dr.  Malagodi's 
views — Mr.  William  Miller — Count  de  Salis  on  the  Vatican — Con- 
versation with  Signor  de  Martino — The  General  of  the  Jesuits 
— Talk  with  Signor  Bergomini — A  visit  to  Cardinal  Gasquet — 
Father  Philip  Langdon — Our  underpaid  diplomats — Observa- 
tions on  the  Vatican,  Italy,  and  foreign  Powers — German  pro- 
posal for  an  Armistice .  ......         416-454 

CHAPTER  XXXIX 

THE  FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 
OCTOBER  AND  NOVEMBER  1918 

Return  to  Paris — A  French  Communique — Talk  with  M.  Mandel — 
The  question  of  our  effectives — Our  Army  the  best  offensive 
weapon  now — Clemenceau  sleeps — Visit  to  G.H.Q.  at  Gouy — 
General  Lawrence's  opinions  on  the  situation — Our  artillery 
successes  —  The  German  distribution  —  Return  to  London — 
M.    Coleyn's   views — Military  events   and    President   Wilson's 


CONTENTS  xiii 


PAOES 


diplomacy — The  victory  of  the  King  of  the  Belgians  east  of 
Yprea — Progress  of  all  the  Allied  Armies  —  Mr.  Cravath  on 
America — General  Ludendorff  resigns — General  Allenby  at 
Aleppo  after  capturing  75,000  prisoners  and  340  guns — The 
Italo-British  victory  in  Italy — The  Austrian  retreat  becomes  a 
rout — General  Chetwode  on  the  Palestine  campaign — Successes 
of  Allies  and  Americans — The  Germans  in  retreat  on  all  sides 
— Outlook  in  Germany — Hatred  of  the  Germans  in  Allied 
countries — The  Austrian  Armistice  conditions — A  letter  from 
Sir  Charles  Townshend — The  Germans  given  seventy-two  hours 
to  accept  the  Armistice — The  Kaiser  abdicates — Armistice  Day, 
November  11 — Rejoicing  in  London — Severe  conditions  imposed 
— Proclamation  of  Marshal  Foch  to  the  Armies        .         .         455-483 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE,  1919 

The  rejoicings  continue — The  history  of  the  Police  Strike — The  Allies 
begin  their  march  to  the  Rhine — Enthusiastic  reception  of  M. 
Clemenceau  and  Marshal  Foch  in  London — Facts  about  American 
divisions  and  strengths  in  France  this  year — Hearty  reception 
of  F.M.  Sir  Douglas  Haig  and  his  Army  Commanders  in  London 
— A  courteous  letter  from  Sir  Auckland  Geddes — Huge  majority 
for  the  Coalition  at  the  General  Election — The  Peace  Conference 
assembles  in  Paris — Troubles  in  the  Army  the  result  of  strain — 
The  Lord  Chancellor  and  the  Dean  of  Durham — The  King 
reviews  the  young  troops — Some  good  stories  at  Sir  E.  Cassel's 
house — Parties  and  gossip — Lord  Dalmeny  on  Allenby — Death 
of  the  Dowager  Lady  Londonderry — Haig  and  Robertson  change 
places — The  march  of  the  Guards  through  London — Secrecy  in 
Paris — Mr.  Lloyd  George  attacks  Lord  Northcliffe — Visit  to 
Beaconsficld  Mr.  Laughlin's  experiences — Visits  to  Easthamp- 
stead  Park — Our  maritime  losses — Death  of  Lady  Paget — Visit 
to  the  Rhine — Situation  of  our  Army  on  the  Rhine — Return  to 
Paris — A  talk  with  Marshals  Foch  and  Petain — Their  dissatis- 
faction with  the  Conference — Count  Sobanski  on  Poland — A 
conversation  witli  General  I  Visaing —  Peace  with  Gormany 
signed  il  Ven   ul!.  b,  June  28 484-517 

INDEX 549-681 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE  GRAND  FLEET,  AUGUST  1917 

A  letter  from  General  Robertson — Colonel  Fagalde — What  posterity 
may  think  of  us — The  Russian  Armies  begin  to  break  up — Lord  Percy 
on  our  strategy — Sir  Edward  Carson's  reasons  for  leaving  the  Ad- 
miralty— Visit  to  Glynde — Colonel  Pollen  on  Sir  A.  Murray's  cam- 
paign— The  Flanders  offensive — Visit  to  Lord  and  Lady  Mar  at 
Alloa — Lunch  at  Admiralty  House,  Rosyth — First  view  of  the  Grand 
Fleet — The  microphone  stations — Admiral  Beatty's  views — Lord 
Hardinge  on  the  War  Cabinet  system — Visit  to  Admiral  Beatty  on 
the  Queen  Elizabeth — Our  slight  superiority  in  battleships — Ignorance 
of  military  arrangements — Scouting  service — Admiral  Beatty  refuses 
to  give  assurances  that  he  will  arrive  in  any  stated  time  at  the  place 
\\h<-re  the  enemy  invades  us — A  look  round  the  Q.  E. — Scapa  and  the 
Forth — The  submarine  K7 — Why  the  submarine  menace  was  not 
understood — Our  tonnage  losses — Visit  to  Admiral  Pakenham  on  the 
Lion — Lord  Hardinge  on  the  action  of  the  Cabinet  after  my  divulga- 
tion of  the  Kaiser's  letter  to  Lord  Tweedmouth  in  1908 — King 
Edward's  visit  to  Germany — Lord  Hardinge  has  to  inform  the  Kaiser 
of  the  Cabinet's  Minute — The  Paris  Embassy — Return  to  London. 

Saturday,  .Inly  21.  Sir  W.  Robertson  writes  to  me  in 
reply  to  a  letter  of  mine  commiserating  with  him  on  the 
Woolwich  fiasco  and  advising  him  not  to  press  for  control 
of  the  Army  in  India  in  peace  time  as  he  would  not  get 
support  for  it.  He  says,  '  I  was  badly  let  down  as  regards 
Woolwich,  and  tor  the  future  will  be  glad  not  to  be  accom- 
panied by  any  politician  when  I  go  to  see  our  workers  at 
home.  My  wish  was  to  give  them  a  pat  on  the  back  for 
what  tiny  have  done  and  to  induce  them  to  go  on  doing 
more,  lint  they  (lid  not  wish  to  hear  me  as  they  wanted  to 
meH  at  AddiflOn.  Afl  regards  control  over  military  affairs 
in  India,  I  note  what  you  say.  My  opinion  remains  1111- 
ohanged,  but  I  shall  not  press  it  any  more  than  is  desirable  ; 


2  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

up  to  that  point  it  will  be  pressed  if  and  when  the  question 
comes  before  me.' 

Lunched  at  the  Marlborough  Club  with  the  Comte  de 
Noailles  and  Colonel  Fagalde,  Foch's  new  liaison  officer 
with  Robertson.  I  like  Fagalde,  who  is  a  soldier  before 
everything  else  and  most  keen  about  his  work.  He  was 
quiet  at  first,  but  warmed  up  when  we  began  to  talk.  He 
is  a  pro-Salonikan  and  we  had  the  usual  argument  on  the 
subject,  neither  convincing  the  other.  He  considers  that 
the  Aisne  battle  is  all  one  since  April  16,  and  that  it  is  a 
battle  for  observation,  and  that  the  victor  is  enabled  to 
reduce  his  forces  when  he  secures  the  better  observation.  He 
thinks  that  the  opening  of  the  new  L.  of  C.  to  the  East  via 
Taranto  will  help.  He  says  that  in  France  and  England  a 
false  view  is  held  of  Sarrail,  who  is  a  soldier  first  of  all  and 
has  merely  been  used  by  politicians  as  a  pawn  in  the  anti- 
Jo  fire  game.  We  agree  to  meet  again  and  talk.  After- 
wards went  to  the  Countess  Torby's  new  house  at  3 
Cambridge  Gate,  Regent's  Park.  Had  a  talk  with  her 
and  the  Grand  Duke,  and  saw  Countess  Zia's  presents  which 
are  still  in  the  drawing-room  after  the  wedding  yesterday. 
They  want  me  to  help  about  getting  their  son  a  commis- 
sion in  our  Army.  The  Countess  discussed  the  war  and 
politics.  She  wonders  how  we  can  expect  Germany  to 
become  democratic  when  her  neighbour  Russia  shows  her 
how  democracy  can  drag  a  country  down.  Lady  Islington 
writes  to  me  that  the  P.M.  has  refused  her  Jack's  resigna- 
tion, and  has  done  so  in  such  a  way  that  he  has  felt  obliged 
to  withdraw  it. 

Sunday,  July  22.  Week-end  at  Coombe :  Sir  Arthur 
and  Lady  Paget,  Charles  Fox,  Evan  Charteris,  Lady  Mar, 
Sir  Archibald  and  Lady  Murray,  Lady  Ridley,  Miss  Muriel 
Wilson,  F.  E.  Smith's  brother,  Mr.  and  Miss  Kerr-Clark, 
Baron  M.  de  Rothschild,  Tony  Drexel,  Mis.  Rupert  Beckett, 
Mrs.  O'Neill,  the  Prince  and  Princess  Radziwill,  and  M. 
Bardac.  A  very  pleasant  party.  Charles  Fox  came  down 
with  me,  and  he  thrilled  the  guests  with  the  stories  of  his 
imprisonment  in  Germany  and  his  escape.     Played  tennis 


1917]       WHAT  POSTERITY  WILL  THINK  3 

morning  and  afternoon.  Smith  very  good.  Lady  Mar  and 
M.  W.  played  excellently,  and  Mrs.  O'Neill  as  splendidly 
as  always.  Sir  A.  P.  has  a  good  day  with  his  troops  in 
prospect  and  wants  me  to  come  and  see  it.  It  is  Scheme  G, 
and  the  Canadians  come  into  it.  Kerr-Clark  tells  me  that 
the  meeting  of  the  Allied  ministers  in  Paris  this  week  is 
mainly  to  revise  the  proposals  of  the  Paris  economic  con- 
ference owing  to  America's  objections  to  the  former  arrange- 
ments. Tony  very  mysterious  about  American  difficulties 
in  France,  but  when  I  told  him  what  they  were  he  became 
more  expansive.  He  thinks  that  Pershing  will  have  to 
ask  France  to  do  certain  things,  and  that  he  will  need 
our  support.  Tony  is  now  interpreter  on  Pershing's  staff 
in  France.  He  understands  by  now  that  the  Americans 
will  have  to  build  their  own  railways,  provide  their  own 
rolling  stock,  and  do  everything  themselves  for  their 
Armies.  He  praises  the  French  Army,  but  is  critical  of 
French  politicians. 

Lady  Ridley  and  I  discussed  what  posterity  would  think 
of  us  in  England.  We  agreed  that  we  should  be  considered 
rather  callous  to  go  on  with  our  usual  life  when  we  were 
reading  of  3000  to  4000  casualties  a  day.  But  she  said 
that  people  could  not  keep  themselves  elevated  permanently 
on  some  plane  above  the  normal,  and  she  supposed  that 
things  round  us  explained  the  French  Revolution  and  the 
behaviour  of  the  French  nobility.  However,  nearly  all 
these  ladies  are  full  of  good  works.  Lady  R.  and  Mrs. 
Beckett  have  the  exhausting  work  of  their  own  hospitals, 
and  the  others  help,  while  all  the  men  are  busy  all  day  and 
are  all  the  better  for  a  little  company  at  lunch  and  dinner 
and  a  Sunday  in  the  country.  Personally  1  think  that  the 
host  ;  thi-  time  have  done  an  infinity  of  good  in  helping 

to  !•.•■•  p  people  Bane, steady, and  cheerful.  The  only  visible 
signs  of  war  are  that  the  men  now  wear  usually  short  coats  and 
black  t  iee  in  1  he  evenings,  thai  dinners  are  shorter,  and  that 
servants  are  fewer  and  less  good.  There  is  a  want  of  taxis 
and  oi  petrol,  and  sugar  in  some  places  is  rather  scarce. 
The  working  classes  are  well  paid,  and  food  is  abundant  if 

VOL.  II.  B 


4  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

dear.  There  is  the  minimum  of  privation,  and  no  general 
and  real  suffering  from  the  war.  The  greatest  sufferers 
are  the  middle  classes,  especially  the  humble  gentlewomen, 
with  fixed  incomes,  and  those  who  have  lost  husbands 
or  sons.  We  wondered  what  particular  things  relating 
to  this  period  would  interest  posterity  most.  We  hoped 
that  it  might  be  the  calm  and  steadiness  of  the  Empire 
in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  war  in  its  history,  and  we 
hoped,  without  feeling  absolutely  assured  of  the  fact, 
that  this  attitude  would  continue  to  the  end.  There  was 
an  air-raid  warning  soon  after  eight  this  morning.  We 
heard  either  guns  or  maroons,  but  on  making  inquiry, 
Sir  A.  P.  was  told  that  there  had  been  an  attack  on 
Harwich  and  Felixstowe  and  that  London  had  not  been 
attacked. 

Monday,  July  23.  Bad  news  to-day  from  Russia.  The 
Second  Army  on  the  S.W.  front  has  given  way  and  the  enemy 
is  at  the  gates  of  Tarnopol.  Many  units  refuse  to  fight 
and  are  dispersing.  All  the  gains  of  the  last  three  weeks 
of  fighting  have  been  lost.  A  nice  letter  from  General 
P6tain  inviting  me  to  come  and  see  him  when  I  go  over. 
Lunched  with  Lord  and  Lady  Mar,  their  boy,  and  Lady 
Ilchester.  A  pleasant  talk.  They  are  in  44  Grosvenor 
Square,  and  I  went  upstairs  to  see  the  curious  fresco  painting 
attributed  to  Hogarth  and  covering  all  one  end  of  the  room. 
It  is  a  triptych  with  painted  columns  between.  It  was 
previously  covered  over  with  canvas,  and  was  only  discovered 
by  accident.  It  is  doubtless  of  the  Hogarth  period,  but 
assuredly  not  by  him  I  should  say.  I  met  afterwards 
the  naval  officer  who  was  with  Jellicoe  when  I  was  last  in 
Paris.  He  says  that  we  have  had  two  or  three  bad  sub- 
marine days.  He  hopes  that  the  American  convoys  will 
get  over,  but  says  that  the  Huns  never  appear  upon  the 
surface  now,  and  that  the  first  warning  is  usually  a  torpedo 
as  the  periscope  is  seldom  seen.  All  the  Grand  Fleet  is 
in  the  Forth  now,  and  might  be  mined-in  any  night.  They 
are  standing  by  in  case  the  attack  in  Flanders  brings  out 
the  Hun3. 


1917]  LORD  PERCY'S  VIEWS  5 

Tuesday,  July  2-i.  Thurlow  the  builder  called  at  Maryon. 
He  says  that  he  has  eleven  men  instead  of  the  forty  he  had 
before  the  war,  and  that  they  are  all  old  and  not  venture- 
some on  high  ladders.  Their  wages  are  one-third  up,  and 
the  price  of  materials  is  awful.  He  says  that  the  war  has 
taught  him  how  dependent  all  classes  are  upon  each  other. 
About  the  wisest  saying  that  I  have  heard  since  the  war 
began. 

Lunched  with  Lord  Percy  at  White's.  He  is  now  in  the 
M.O.  branch  at  the  War  Office.  We  could  not  find  much  to 
cheer  us  in  the  Russian  news,  which  is  still  execrable.  He 
wanted  to  know  if  I  thought  we  could  win  the  war  if  Russia 
was  placed  out  of  court.  What  would  I  advise  ?  I  said 
that  it  would  be  difficult,  but  that  we  four  Western  Powers 
must  then  make  a  great  effort,  close  down  all  secondary 
operations  as  much  as  possible,  call  up  all  our  reserves  of 
manhood,  and  place  another  large  batch  of  divisions  in  the 
field.  P.  thinks  that  L.  G.  cannot  be  deaf  to  the  appeals  of 
the  French,  Venizelos, and  the  Serbs  for  us  to  stayat  Salonika, 
and  he  believes  that  the  ousting  of  King  Constantine  has 
practically  forced  our  hand  again  and  compelled  us  to  stay. 
He  hopes  that  as  Venizelos's  promised  divisions  mature  we 
may  be  able  to  take  more  of  ours  away.  He  says,  and  I  agree, 
1  hat  it  is  dreadful  to  look  at  the  relative  forces  on  our  three 
Eastern  fronts  and  to  note  how  little  we  have  made  of  our 
superiority  except  in  Mesopotamia.  He  fancies  that  L.  G. 
tells  the  W.O.  that  a  call  for  more  men  will  spell  revolution. 
I  aid  that  if  L.  G.  told  t  lie  country  the  whole  truth  and  what 
.-li'Mild  be  done,  every  one  would  respond.  P.  admits  that 
nothing  has  been  arranged  for  any  despatch  of  Italian  troops 
to  France.  In  tin  I. it  Saint  Jean  de  Maurienne  conference 
the  Etaliana  i-vi-n  refused  t<>  find  labour  battalions  for  France. 
All  this  must   l»-  ohanged,  and  I  have  written  an  article 

bringing  tin-  BUbjecl  in.  V.  thinks  thai  X.  has  a  bad  in- 
fluence on  tin-  affairs  at  the  War  Cabinet,  ae  he  is  clever  and 

writes  well,  but  has  no  knowledge  or  judgment  of  great 
military  affairs.  I  mu  >  •  \.  and  find  out  how  thing.-, 
stand. 


6  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

Wednesday,  July  25.  A  letter  from  Carson  saying  that 
he  is  very  sorry  to  leave  the  Admiralty,  but  that  it  is  im- 
possible, with  the  great  volume  of  work  that  there  is  now 
to  do,  to  serve  in  the  War  Cabinet  and  as  the  head  of  a  de- 
partment at  the  same  time,  and  he  says  that  he  must  serve 
where  it  is  thought  that  he  can  be  of  most  use.  An  article 
by  me  on  the  outlook  appears  to-day,  and  receives  general 
approval.  Montagu  writes  that  letters  of  encouragement 
like  mine  are  very  acceptable  at  the  present  moment,  and 
asks  me  to  come  and  see  him  when  I  have  anything  to 
suggest.  Winston  sends  a  wire  of  thanks.  These  two  last 
Ministers  have  a  bad  press.  Doris  Keane  tells  me  that  the 
seventy  carpenters  and  others  employed  at  her  theatre  are 
rabid  about  Winston's  appointment,  and  that  it  has  caused 
them  to  distrust  L.  G.  and  write  him  off  as  a  mere  politician. 
Uneasy  lies  the  head  that  rests  at  No  10  ! 

Thursday,  July  26.  A  talk  with  Meredith  and  his  partner 
about  the  Memoirs.  Tribunal  in  the  afternoon.  Marjorie 
dined  with  me  at  Claridge's.  I  left  the  dinner  to  Charles 
and  was  well  inspired.  We  saw  the  end  of  the  Palace  Revue 
afterwards,  and  voted  Gertie  Millar  to  be  still  unapproach- 
able in  her  particular  branch.     She  is  an  artist. 

Friday,  July  27.  I  picked  up  Marjorie  and  we  lunched 
with  Doris  Keane,  E.,  and  the  Epsteins  at  Doris's  new 
house,  34  Chapel  Street,  which  is  already  very  delicious 
and  is  going  to  be  a  gem.  Doris  in  high  spirits.  Very 
entertaining.  Epstein  has  not  much  conversation.  We 
went  on  to  his  studio  to  see  him  modelling  the  bust  of 
Doris.  It  is  a  good  resemblance,  full  face,  and  should 
be  very  successful.  We  then  went  to  the  Grosvenor 
Gallery  to  see  the  pictures.  We  greatly  enjoyed  Laszlo's 
portraits  of  Lord  Carnock  and  Mrs.  Arthur  Wilson,  which 
are  fine  works.  Mrs.  Asquith's  portrait — or  at  least  the 
portrayal  of  her  back — by  Ranken,  is  very  clever.  I  did 
not  like  McEvoy's  portrait  of  Lady  Gwendeline  Churchill. 
He  has  not  caught  her  particular  winsomeness  at  all,  but 
his  portrait  of  Miss  Asquith  is  lifelike.  Jessie  Gibson's 
'  Coster  Girl,'   Norah   Neilson   Gray's   '  Haunted   Garden,' 


1917]  LORD  ISLINGTON  ON  INDIA  7 

Laura  Knight's  '  Pavlova  at  the  Palace,'  and  a  few  more 
also  pleased  us.  Lady  Talbot  studs  me  a  charming  letter 
about  my  last  article,  and  others  arrive  approving.  Colonel 
Mola  very  pleased  that  I  have  put  forward  the  outcome  of 
our  conversations,  and  promises  to  promote  the  same  ideas 
in  Italy. 

Wrtk-cnd,  Saturday,  July  28  to  Monday,  July  30.  Captain 
Fox  and  I  travelled  down  to  Glynde  to  stay  with  the 
Islingtons.  Princess  Patricia  of  Connaught,  Lady  Essex, 
Lord  Peel,  and  McEvoy  the  artist  also  there.  I  like  the 
latter.  He  is  intelligent  and  pleasant,  but  Fox  asks  why 
he  wears  pyjamas  by  day  and  finds  it  necessary  to  brush 
his  hair  so  quaintly.  The  Princess  has  become  very  hand- 
some, and  has  a  charming  manner.  It  is  a  pleasure  to 
see  a  princess  who  is  not  dowdy.  We  all  listened  to  Fox's 
account  of  his  adventures,  which  thrilled  every  one.  On 
•Sunday  I  had  a  long  talk  with  Peel  about  home  politics, 
State  finance,  nationalisation  of  great  industries,  etc.  He 
is  a  good  man  and  ought  to  be  more  in  view.  Islington 
and  1  discussed  India  again.  He  is  dead  against  altering 
Army  administration  in  India,  and  says  that  Monro  has 
made  all  the  changes  needed.  These  include  the  regular 
assembly  of  the  Army  Council,  the  raising  of  the  status 
of  the  A.G.  and  Q.M.G.  in  India  ;  the  increase  of  the  staffs 
<>t  Army  commanders,  etc.,  while  the  creation  of  a  third 
Army  is  contemplated.  But  Monro  still  holds  out  for  the 
Indian  cadets  to  be  at  Sandhurst.  I  should  hear  from  him 
soon  on  this  point.  Islington  will  not  stay  long  at  the  I.O. 
1  f»ar.  It  will  be  a  pity.  We  played  tennis  on  Sunday, 
but  were  driven  in  later  by  the  rain,  and  then  played  Bridge, 
or  at  least  box,  Lady  rCssex.  Islington,  and  I  played,  and 
Peel  a  rubber  or  two.  Miss  Joan  Poynder  a  very  attrac- 
tive girl,  clever,  and  a  good  hand  at  talking  in  an  interesting 
u.iv.  'id'-  Princess  very  delightful  when  the  firsl  formalities 
began  to  wear  off.  She  is  rather  like  Juliet  Dull.  Going 
up  to  town  Lady  Esses  made  Lady  Islington  do  some 
impersonations.    She  did  a  cockney  girl  in  a  train  journey, 

then    tin-    Sicilian    actor-,    and    finally    -Mrs.    X.      She    was 


8  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

quite  inimitable,  and  we  all  laughed  heartily.  The  guns 
in  Flanders  were  heard  very  distinctly  on  the  terrace 
<  alvnde.  It  was  a  continuous  throbbing,  the  noise  of 
t;  .iviest  guns  occasionally  rising  above  the  distant  din. 
The  Princess  told  a  story  of  a  Chinese  Ambassador  at  a 
British  naval  review.  He  was  asked  whether  he  enjoyed 
it.  He  replied,  through  the  interpreter,  that  he  did  not 
enjoy  it  at  all,  and  wished  himself  back  at  Harrod's  Stores  ! 
Mr.  Martin  writes  from  Liverpool  to  the  Times,  to  express 
'  the  appreciation  heard  in  the  North,  of  the  cool  judg- 
ment and  clarity  of  view  of  the  too  infrequent  articles  of 
your  Military  Correspondent,'  and  more  to  the  same  effect. 

Wednesday,  August  1.  Y.  writes  that  X.  is  his  chief 
rival  for  the  Paris  Embassy.  My  dread  is  that  some 
pricked  bubble  of  a  politician  may  be  unloaded  into  the 
Embassy,  to  get  him  out  of  the  way.  Lunched  with  the 
Lyttons :  Mrs.  Earle  and  Lord  and  Lady  Francis  Scott 
also  there  ;  Lord  F.  still  very  lame  and  walking  with  sticks. 
A  pleasant  talk.  I  liked  Mrs.  Earle 's  story  of  a  remark 
made  by  the  daughter  of  a  distinguished  political  family  : 
1  One  of  our  grandmothers  was  a  ballet  dancer  and  another 
was  a  French  cook,  so  really  we  ought  to  be  something.' 
Much  pleasure  about  the  battle  which  began  yesterday 
and  has  won  for  us  a  large  area  east  of  Ypres.  Much  talk 
also  about  Henderson's  visit  to  Paris  with  Ramsay  Mac- 
donald,  and  we  all  feel  that  H.  cannot  disassociate  himself 
from  his  position  as  a  member  of  the  War  Cabinet,  and  that 
Parliament  is  rightly  wrathful  that  he  should  mix  himself  up 
with  R.  M.'s  intrigue.  I  find  that  the  Lyttons'  friends  are 
thinking  of  the  Paris  Embassy  for  him .  I  should  prefer  him 
at  the  head  of  a  department  here,  as  he  has  high  char- 
acter, much  ability,  and  is  an  excellent  speaker. 

Met  Colonel  Pollen  afterwards.  He  was  with  Murray  in 
Egypt.  He  tells  me  that  the  shelving  beach,  and  three  or  four 
miles  of  shifting  sand  dunes  300  feet  high,  on  the  coast  near 
Gaza,  as  well  as  the  constant  and  heavy  surf,  make  the 
railway  the  only  practicable  L.  of  C.  He  says  that  it  was 
all   different   in   Alexander's   day,   when   the   Mahamudie 


1917]  MURRAY'S  DESPATCH  9 

mouth  of  the  Nile  was  open.  It  was  this  branch  of  the 
Nile  that  the  Jews  crossed  in  fleeing  from  Egypt,  and  not 
the  Red  Sea.  A  west  wind  drove  the  waters  bacl- 
piled  them  in  a  heap.  When  the  wind  changed  the  \u  8 
began  to  percolate  through  the  sand  and  made  it  a  morass. 
It  was  that  in  which  Pharaoh  came  to  grief.  The  Jews  had 
got  over  dry  before  the  wind  changed.  A  Jew  would. 
Pollen  says  that  Murray  reached  Egypt  in  Jan.  1916,  and 
did  a  great  work  in  reorganising  all  the  remnants  of  troops 
in  Egypt  and  coming  from  Gallipoli  and  Australasia.  He 
eventually  formed  16  divisions  in  all.  Eleven  of  these 
were  then  sent  off  to  other  theatres,  and  he  was  left  with 
only  four  by  May  or  June  1916.  He  was  told  to  act  defen- 
sively about  Oct.  1916.  He  said  that  he  could  do  so 
with  three  divisions  if  he  occupied  Katia.  He  did  so,  and 
then  another  division  was  taken  from  him.  He  now 
constructed  his  railway  of  4- 8  half -inch  gauge  and  his  pipe 
lines,  and  reached  El  Arish  in  Feb.  of  this  year,  and  attacked 
Gaza,  Feb.  3.  He  asked  for  another  division  and  more 
cavalry,  and  was  then  told  that  he  did  not  realise  the 
importance  of  pushing  on.  The  second  fight  at  Gaza 
was  April  26.  These  dates  need  checking.  Pollen  says 
that  Brade  has  written  asking  Murray  to  alter  his  despatch 
bo  that  it  may  be  published.  It  is  evidently  desired  that 
Murray  should  eliminate  the  summary  of  his  instructions 
with  which  his  despatch  opens.  Pollen  advises  him  to 
refuse  unless  he  gets  a  written  order,  as  otherwise  the  poli- 
ticians will  declare  that  he  wrote  what  he  pleased.  Went  to 
see  Lewis  Butler  at  Lloyd's  Bank.  He  showed  me  a  good 
letter  from  his  son,  who  is  adjutant  of  the  2nd  K.R.IL. 
which  was  destroyed  in  the  recent  affair  at  Nieuport.  It 
seems  to  show  that  the  German  heavies  were  not  properly 
Opposed,  and  that  neither  aircraft  nor  ships  brought   any 

help. 

Went  On  to  talk  with  another  man  about  ffaig't* 
Handera  offensive.  He  showed  me  the  map  with 
Baig*i  objectives  marked  on  it  in  different  colours  as 
usual,  and  with  a  red  line  showing  whal   we  had  won  in 


io  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

yesterday's  attack.  We  had  gained  all  three  objectives 
over  two-thirds  of  the  front  attacked,  and  on  the  other 
third  we  had  not  quite  reached  our  last  objective  on  our 
right  centre,  and  had  more  than  reached  it  on  our  left  and 
on  the  French  front.  We  had  engaged  12  divisions  and  the 
Germans  11,  but  ours  were  of  12  battalions  and  the  Huns 
of  9,  while  our  battalions  were  1000  strong — I  wonder  if 
they  were  ? — and  the  Huns  700.  The  rain  was  very  un- 
fortunate. We  had  been  ready  on  July  24,  but  the  French 
were  not,  and  we  had  to  wait  for  them.  It  is  thought  that 
the  German  guns  were  a  good  way  back,  as  at  Messines, 
for  prudential  reasons.  The  whole  ground  is  a  perfect 
maze  of  trenches  and  defended  posts.  My  friend  thought 
that  the  main  interest  was  our  methodical  manner  of 
conducting  these  attacks  which  were  now  systematised. 

I  met  another  authority  later.  He  was  very  pleased  about 
the  battle.  He  gave  the  Huns  16  divisions  in  the  fight. 
We  had  only  used  12,  and  we  had  50  in  all  for  subsequent 
operations.  But  we  were  now  20,000  down  in  the  aggregate 
in  France,  or  30,000  allowing  for  10,000  casualties,  and 
the  War  Cabinet  would  do  nothing  to  get  more  men,  at 
least  nothing  serious.  We  had  mountains  of  shells,  but 
now  not  enough  guns  to  fire  them,  and  we  were  slacking 
off  production.  We  had  2200  field  guns  in  the  fight  and 
many  heavies,  perhaps  4000  guns  in  all — he  did  not  know 
the  exact  number.  The  French  had  600  guns  with  their  1st 
Army,  which  was  in  two  Army  corps  each  of  three  divisions, 
the  whole  under  General  Anthoine.  They  had  only  a 
small  sector  of  the  attack.  Our  airmen  had  done  well,  but 
the  fighting  had  been  very  stiff.  The  repair  of  guns  was 
causing  some  anxiety.  He  had  seen  Gough  recently. 
Gough  had  said  that  his  orders  were  to  get  as  far  on  as  he 
could,  but  that  when  he  encountered  organised  resistance 
he  was  to  sit  down  to  organised  attack.  On  such  lines  we 
should  do  well.  It  is  thought  that  the  Huns  will  hate  the 
battle,  and  we  mean  to  do  a  lot  more  before  we  finish.  It 
is  intended  to  give  Murray  a  good  post  in  a  few  weeks'  time. 
I  recommended  the  job  of  preparing  for  demobilisation  and 


1917J  ALLOA  HOUSE  11 

for  the  creation  of  the  organisation  which  we  should  need 
after  the  war.  My  friend  told  me  that  Allenby  had  lost 
his  only  son  in  France.  He  did  not  think  that  the  Russians 
would  make  peace.  The  Huns  had  been  alarmed  at  the 
Russian  offensive,  and  had  hurried  a  few  divisions  to  the 
East.  The  Russians  had  run  away  although  three  times 
as  strong.  My  friend  rather  hoped  that  the  Huns  might 
get  themselves  tied  up  in  the  autumn  by  advancing  into 
Russia.  All  our  guns  sent  to  Russia  were  at  Moscow. 
The  Huns  had  not  yet  made  a  claim  of  guns  captured. 
The  Paris  Conference  had  been  planned  to  allow  the  Balkan 
representatives  to  talk.  There  was  no  change,  but  the 
conference  would  continue  here  to-morrow.  Petain  is 
much  liked,  but  neither  he  nor  Foch  can  do  anything 
without  the  politicians.  Foch  had  said  everything  that 
L.  G.  hated  most. 

Sat  unlay,  August  4.  Sir  David  Beatty  had  written  in 
answer  to  a  letter  from  me  that  he  would  like  to  see  me, 
and  I  had  an  invitation  to  stay  with  Lady  Mar  at  Alloa, 
which  is  within  easy  motoring  distance  of  Rosyth,  where 
the  Grand  Fleet  now  lies.  So  I  left  London  at  9.30  a.m. 
to-day  and  reached  Alloa  at  8.30  p.m.  There  were  great 
crowds  at  the  chief  junctions,  Crewe,  Carlisle,  etc.  The 
country  is  looking  remarkably  well,  and  the  crops  every- 
where seem  to  promise  a  bountiful  harvest,  while  the 
grasslands  are  covered  with  cattle,  and  I  saw  few  signs 
of  wheat  in  the  hunting  shires.  At  Alloa  I  found  Lord 
Hardinge  of  Penshurst  and  his  daughter  Diamond,  and 
Miss  Magdalen  Rycroft.  Had  a  good  gossip  with  Lady 
.Mai  after  dinner.  Theresa  Lady  Londonderry  coming  to- 
morrow. 

Sunday,  August  5.  A  long  talk  of  war  and  politics  with 
Lady  Max  in  the  morning.  Alloa  House  is  a  large  and 
oomfortable  building  dating  from  I860.  It  is  on  the  out 
skirts  of  the  town,  but  is  shielded  from  it  by  woods  and 
grounds.  There  an-  souk-  fine  pictures,  including  three 
Etaeburns,  a  couple  <>f  good  Van  Goyens,  and  various  Lely 
and  Janssen  portraits.     Lady  M.,  Hardinge,  and  1  motored 


i2  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

over  to  Admiralty  House,  Rosyth,  to  lunch  with  Admiral 
Sir  Frederick  Hamilton  and  his  wife.  The  Duke  of  Con- 
naught  and  Princess  Patricia  were  there.  Count  Michael 
Torby,  and  various  naval  officers  and  some  wives,  besides 
two  Miss  Hamiltons.  A  fine  view  of  the  Forth  from  the 
balcony,  which  resembles  the  stern- walk  of  a  ship.  The 
battleships  are  lying  above  the  bridge  in  two  columns, 
stretching  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see.  Smaller  craft  and 
submarines  are  on  each  side  of  them.  The  battle  cruisers 
and  light  squadrons  he  below  the  bridge.  The  Admiral 
says  that  when  the  Grand  Fleet  reached  the  Forth  it 
stretched  over  seven  miles  of  water.  The  Queen  Elizabeth  is 
now  Beatty's  flagship,  and  she  lies  at  the  head  of  the  port 
wing.  The  balcony  is  a  regular  sun-trap,  and  it  was  like  a 
day  on  the  Riviera.  The  view  of  the  Grand  Fleet  was 
most  grim  and  impressive. 

A  pleasant  talk  at  lunch.  The  Duke  criticised  an  early 
portrait  of  Admiral  Sir  Harry  Keppel,  Lady  Hamilton's 
father,  because  it  had  the  decorations  put  on  irregularly. 
We  talked  soldiering  recollections  after  lunch.  The  Duke 
was  angry  at  the  Censor  having  interfered  with  the  issue  of 
the  R.B.  Chronicle,  but  was  pleased  that  I  had  arranged 
the  matter,  thanks  to  Sammy  Scott.  The  Admiral  says 
that  our  new  microphone  stations  can  now  detect  submarines 
two  to  three  miles  distant,  and  he  wants  me  to  see  Captain 
Ryan  who  has  charge  of  them.  When  a  submarine  is 
detected  she  is  hunted  by  destroyers,  motor  boats,  and  sea- 
planes. The  value  of  the  motor  boat  is  that  all  its  engines 
can  be  easily  stopped,  and  this  allows  the  microphone  to 
work,  whereas  on  a  destroyer  there  are  many  auxiliary 
engines,  not  so  easily  silenced.  When  the  submarine  dives 
we  use  depth  charges  to  destroy  her. 

Lady  M.  told  me  this  morning  that  Beatty  says  that  all 
the  Jutland  plans  hitherto  published  are  inaccurate,  and 
that  he  has  the  correct  plans.  We  motored  on  after  lunch 
to  Aberdour,  the  Beattys'  house,  a  quite  old,  stone,  stucco, 
and  tiled  house  with  a  view  of  the  Firth  from  the  house  and 
lawn.      We  found  David  Beatty  playing  tennis,   and  he 


1917]  BEATTY  AND  HIS  SHIPS  13 

plays  very  well.  He  hag  not  much  changed  since  Nile 
days  except  that  he  is  a  trifle  thicker  and  has  more  lines  on 
his  face,  but  he  is  as  active  as  ever,  is  full  of  life  and  fun, 
and  his  brown  hair,  parted  in  the  middle  and  brushed  back, 
speaks  of  youth.  Ho  looks  up  at  one  in  the  old  way,  with 
the  right  eye  almost  closed  and  the  left  only  showing  a 
peephole.  Lady  Beatty  was  there,  and  Mrs.  Godfrey- 
Faussett,  and  there  turned  up  for  tennis  various  naval 
officers,  besides  King  Manuel  who  was  doing  a  tour  of  his 
orthopaedic  hospitals.  The  Admiral  says  that  he  has 
enjoyed  Carson's  regular  visits,  but  that  he  has  to  keep 
on  training  the  new  Sea  Lords.  I  said  that  I  hoped  the 
Flanders  operations  might  tempt  to  sea  the  German  Fleet. 
The  Admiral  thought  that  what  with  mines  and  submarines 
these  were  our  waters,  and  that  the  Huns  would  seek  more 
open  waters  if  they  had  a  fling  at  us.  He  was  not  of  the 
opinion  that  the  Hun  would  not  come  out.  He  thought 
that  all  his  inclinations  were  to  fight,  and  that  while  the 
defeat  of  the  Huns  would  alter  nothing  materially,  a  German 
victory  would  have  immense  consequences  and  would 
hearten  up  the  Hun  to  go  on  for  another  year.  The  Admiral 
said  that  he  had  iifty-two  couple  of  ships  in  the  Forth  and  that 
fourteen  couple  were  out  seeking  adventures.  The  Fleet  here 
is,  he  said,  nearer  to  its  probable  objectives  than  at  Scapa, 
and  would  not  be  much  delayed  in  putting  to  sea,  but  Scapa 
is  the  best  place  for  training.  His  observation  balloons  of 
the  Army  pattern,  which  I  saw  in  the  air,  were,  he  said,  new 
since  Jutland,  and  they  can  remain  in  the  air  and  carry  out 
observations  in  a  forty -knot  wind  while  a  ship  is  running 
twenty  knots.  Neither  we  nor  the  Huns  had  such  help  at 
Jutland.  The  Huns  know  that  we  have  them  because  we  use 
tlicm  for  hunting  submarines,  for  which  they  are  quite 
useful.  I  asked  about  the  dirigibles.  D.  B.  says  that  the 
enemy   has  still   the   monopoly  of  the  best  air  scouting  in 

good  weather,  when  one  Zeppelin  oan  do  as  mnoh  as  five  or 
six  cruisers.  When  the  fleet  came  here  from  Scapa  it  was 
OjOOompanied  by  some  of  the  new  small  dirigibles,  but  D.  B. 

could  not  wireless  to  them  as  wirel«       me    ages  were  closed 


i4  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

down  during  the  move.  They  pitched  and  tossed  a  good 
deal,  but  D.  B.  hopes  that  they  may  be  of  use  some  day. 
The  large  dirigibles  have  not  yet  come  along,  and  B. 
thinks  that  they  have  been  messed  about  and  that  people 
do  not  appreciate  their  importance  even  now. 

Madame  Dubois,  a  fortune-teller,  was  in  the  house  when 
we  came.  I  did  not  see  her,  but  she  saw  Lady  Mar  and  told 
her  that  she  would  soon  marry  again.  Lord  Mar  is  still 
fit  and  well,  and  we  shall  not  be  able  to  tell  the  story  at  Alloa. 
All  the  Admirals  in  turn  went  to  see  the  fortune-teller  at 
a  bazaar  held  here  yesterday,  and  B.  was  most  amusing 
on  the  subject.  He  described  how  the  Admirals  all  came 
out  from  their  consultation  with  the  lady,  looking  flushed 
and  pleased,  and  with  a  glint  in  their  eyes,  showing  that 
the  lady  had  prophesied  great  careers  for  them  all. 

Motoring  to  Aberdour  and  back,  Hardinge  and  I  talked. 
He  seems  to  think  that  Sir  Eric  Geddes  has  been  made  First 
Lord  in  order  to  carry  out  some  necessary  changes,  and 
possibly  to  change  the  First  Sea  Lord.  He  tells  me  that 
the  Foreign  Office  has  expanded  from  150  persons  to  1150, 
and  that  the  original  nucleus  controls  the  rest.  We  thought 
that  if  other  departments  had  expanded  similarly  it  would 
have  been  better  than  creating  a  host  of  new  departments 
which  interfered  with  each  other  and  were  not  co-ordinated. 
I  had  given  a  review  of  the  three  years  of  the  war  in  the 
Times  of  last  Saturday,  Aug.  4,  and  had  criticised  our  War 
Cabinets.  H.  agreed  that  the  absence  of  the  First  Lord, 
War  Secretary,  and  Foreign  Secretary  from  the  War  Cabinet 
is  absurd.  Hardinge  is  impressed  with  the  value  of  the  G.S. 
under  Robertson,  and  he  values  Maurice  and  Macdonogh 
as  much  as  I  do.  He  asked  me  much  about  Petain  and 
Nivelle,  and  I  promised  to  show  him  the  diary  of  my  last 
voyage  to  France  H.  agrees  that  the  Salonika  expedition 
is  the  worst  fault  that  we  have  made  during  the  war. 

We  discussed  India.  He  and  Lady  Mar  thought  that 
the  Durbar  was  their  most  astonishing  experience  in  India. 
H.  wishes  to  retain  the  Kitchener  Army  system  in  India. 
He   considers    it    strange    that    the    Mesopotamia    Report 


1917]  THE  QUEEN  ELIZABETH  15 

should  never  have  alluded  to  the  failure  of  the  Q.M.G. 
branch  at  Simla,  and  I  entirely  agree.  He  wishes  the 
Indian  cadets  to  be  sent  to  Indian  Sandhursts  when  they 
get  King's  Commissions,  and  says  that  they  will  do  no 
good  here  and  have  nowhere  to  go  for  the  holidays. 

Monday,  Aug  6.  Motored  to  Rosyth.  Am  impressed 
by  the  manner  in  which  apparently  any  one  can  enter  the 
dockyard.  The  Admiral's  launch  met  me  and  took  me  to 
the  flagship.  I  lunched  with  him,  his  boys,  and  various 
naval  officers,  including  Brock  his  chief  of  staff,  and  Brand 
his  secretary.  Before  lunch  we  had  a  good  talk  walking 
up  and  down  the  quarter-deck  of  the  Queen  Elizabeth,  which 
has  great  length  and  breadth  and  is  unobstructed.  He 
told  me  that  he  had  32  battleships  to  the  German  27,  but 
that  as  the  enemy  can  decide  when  to  fight,  B.  has  to  reckon 
without  3  of  his  ships  which  will  normally  be  under  repair, 
giving  him  29  against  the  German  27,  but  of  course  ours 
are  better  ships,  and  many  improvements  have  been  made 
since  Jutland.  He  has  all  the  battle  cruisers  with  the 
Grand  Fleet.  Tyrwhitt  is  under  the  Admiralty,  but  B. 
has  an  understanding  with  Tyrwhitt  that  the  latter  will 
come  under  him  if  the  German  Fleet  comes  out.  I  was 
surprised  to  find  that  Beatty  knows  absolutely  nothing  of 
our  defensive  arrangements  ashore,  is  not  in  touch  with 
any  military  authority,  and  has  not  even  a  liaison  officer 
with  Robertson  or  Lord  French.  He  would  like  one, 
but  at  present  he  does  not  know  anything  about  home 
defence  ashore  or  whether  we  have  ten  men  or  an  Army  corp.s 
at  one  place  or  another.  This  after  three  years  of  war  ! 
Beatty  has  no  real  intelligence  service  of  his  own,  and  has 
to  trust  the  Admiralty  t<>  keep  him  informed.  Beatty  hopes, 
however,  that  he  will  hear  automatically  if  the  German 
Fleet     COmee    out.      I    am    sure    1    hope    lie    may.      It     mij/lil 

interest  him. 

I  a  ked  about  the  Boouting  service  for  the  local  protection 

of  the  Grand    Fleet.      He  Bays  that   he  has  his  cruisers  and 

patrols  150  mil*-.-  out,  and  in  tin-  Forth  there  are  three  lines 

of  nets,  one  -it   the  bridge,  and  two  more  below  where  the 


16  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

battle  cruisers  lie.  Subsequently  I  passed  over  one  of  them 
in  a  launch,  and  imagine  that  a  surprise  attack  by  motor 
launches  armed  with  torpedoes  might  get  through  so  far  as 
the  nets  are  concerned.  We  discussed  invasion  and  raids. 
Beatty  said  that  he  did  not  intend  to  hurry  post-haste  to  the 
spot  if  England  were  invaded.  No  doubt  he  intends  to  cut 
off  the  German  Fleet  from  its  bases  if  he  can  and  to  force  a 
decisive  action.  He  says  that  he  will  not  admit  any  theory, 
nor  accept  any  ruling,  that  he  can  be  on  the  spot  in  36  or 
72  hours,  or  any  other  time.  He  says  that  it  may  be  more 
or  less.  He  is  out  for  a  big  throw  with  his  Fleet,  and 
supposes  that  the  Army  can  deal  with  any  such  invasion 
as  can  come.  He  does  not  believe  in  it,  but  rather  hopes 
that  it  may  come.  This  may  all  be  perfectly  sound,  but 
meanwhile  it  is  comical  to  think  of  all  the  profound  cal- 
culation made  by  the  Home  Defence  staff  on  the  basis 
of  naval  support  within  fixed  numbers  of  hours,  and  the 
utter  futility  and  baselessness  of  the  whole  arrangement, 
or  want  of  arrangement.  What  an  extraordinary  people 
we  are  ! 

Beatty  says  that  he  likes  Sir  Eric  Geddes,  and  thinks  that 
he  will  be  able  to  work  with  him.  He  believes  him  to  be 
a  man  anxious  to  win  the  war,  and  with  no  axe  of  his  own 
to  grind.  But  he  says  that  Geddes  has  upset  all  the  Con- 
troller's branch  at  the  Admiralty,  and  has  now  left  it  to 
sort  itself  out  as  best  it  may.  B.  says  that  JeUicoe  had 
great  qualities  especially  for  administration  and  detail, 
and  B.  added  that  we  all  had  defects.  The  Fleet  itself, 
said  B.,  is  all  right,  and  he  agrees  with  Robertson  that 
a  table-man  is  needed  at  Whitehall  as  First  Sea  Lord. 
The  Army  had  taken  the  Admiralty  framework  and  had  then 
covered  the  dry  bones  with  flesh  and  blood.  The  Admiralty 
had  never  done  so,  and  hence  all  the  trouble. 

Beatty  refuses  to  count  upon  ship  for  ship  superiority 
as  Winston  did.  He  prefers  to  keep  this  as  something  up 
his  sleeve,  and  says  that  if  we  and  the  Germans  each  lose 
an  equal  number  of  ships  in  a  fight  we  shall  lose  more  : 
he  therefore  prefers  to  count  by  units.     He  is  consulted 


1917]  A  SMART  FLAGSHIP  17 

about  the  selection  of  admirals  and  captains  in  the  Grand 
Fleet.  B.'s  quarters  are  aft  in  the  Q.  E.  There  is  a  dining 
cabin  able  to  hold  about  twenty  people,  with  good  engrav- 
ings of  the  old  admirals  hung  round  it.  His  own  sitting- 
room  is  aft  again.  It  has  a  regular  fireplace  lit  by  electricity, 
with  a  club  fender  on  which  one  can  sit.  There  is  a  large 
sofa,  a  writing  table,  a  desk,  and  a  few  other  tables  and 
chairs,  with  vases  of  flowers,  one  of  which  I  upset,  on  the 
tables.  It  is  very  comfortable,  and  one  has  to  remember 
that  the  Admiral  has  for  three  years  not  slept  away  from 
his  ship  except  when  he  once  visited  London  on  naval 
business.  He  has  a  firm  and  decided  way  of  talking 
which  is  attractive.  The  peak  of  his  cap  is  of  unusual 
size,  and  he  wears  his  cap  usually  cocked  over  his  eyes,  or 
on  the  back  of  his  head,  or  ai^where  except  at  the  normal 
angle. 

The  flag  lieutenant  showed  me  round  the  ship,  which  was 
spotlessly  clean  and  painted  a  lighter  grey  than  in  time  of 
peace,  but  the  f.l.  thought  that  the  ships  were  still  too  dark 
and  that  a  cream  colour,  almost  white,  was  best  for  day 
work.  I  agreed  with  this,  but  on  reflection  am  not  sure 
whether  the  colour  matters  much  with  such  constantly 
varying  lights  by  day  and  night.  At  present  the  paint  is  the 
grey  of  an  Ascot  gown  for  a  girl  of  eighteen.  I  was  surprised 
to  see  so  much  wood  about  the  ship.  None  of  it  seemed 
to  have  been  removed.  We  entered  the  turret,  and  the 
15-in.  gun,  with  its  projectile  weighing  a  ton,  was  manoeuvred 
for  me.  The  6-in.  batteries  were  like  a  lady's  boudoir,  so 
neat  and  spick  and  span  were  they.  All  the  arrangements 
for  firing  the  great  guns  were  explained  to  me.  I  was 
shown  the  conning  tower,  which  is  a  rare  box  of  tricks,  and 
tho  navigating  bridge.  There  is  no  post  that  seems  to  me 
v.  iv  Satisfactory  for  an  Admiral.  The  control  station 
•  •  d  i"  me  lii  bed  place  Cora  general  view.  Thai  of  the 
Q.  E. was  being  altered, and  I  think  that  Beattyis  prepar- 

mil'  lor  tniii  'It  u  bridge  like  that  of  t  ho  Lion.     The  smart 

appearance  of  the  flagship  is  partly  due  to  the  met  that 

she  is  an  oil  ship,  but   niy  guide  Baid  that  when  no  coaling 


18  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

had  to  be  done  the  want  of  hard  manual  labour  was  much 
felt,  and  that  the  men  were  getting  beefy  for  want  of  it. 

The  men  looked  well,  but  not  so  hard,  fit,  and  bronzed 
as  our  soldiers.  The  Admiral  told  me  that  the  men  were 
not  suffering  from  strain  now,  and  they  certainly  showed 
no  signs  of  it  at  all.  They  looked  in  fact  as  if  a  twenty- 
mile  route  march  would  have  done  them  a  rare  lot  of  good. 
The  battleships  only  put  to  sea  once  or  twice  a  month, 
but  work  of  different  sorts  goes  on  of  course  every  day. 
Beatty  told  me  that  the  blowing  up  of  the  Vanguard  in 
the  midst  of  the  Fleet,  leaving  not  a  wrack  behind,  had 
been  most  terrible,  and  that  he  was  not  sorry  to  divert 
men's  minds  by  a  change  of  surroundings  from  Scapa  to 
the  Forth.  Sailors  prefer  Scapa,  or  at  least  the  officers 
do,  because  neither  drink  nor  women  can  be  found  there, 
and  all  the  training  can  go  on.  I  must  try  to  see  Tyrwhitt 
and  the  light  craft  to  find  out  whether  the  strain  on  them 
is  great.  I  must  say  that  so  far  as  the  Grand  Fleet  is  con- 
cerned, a  soldier  seems  to  me  to  endure  more  in  a  day  than 
the  average  sailor  does  in  a  month. 

Such  intelligence  service  as  the  Q.  E.  has  is  confined  in 
a  small  dark  den.  I  had  a  talk  with  the  few  officers  there 
and  thought  the  intelligence  seemed  elementary.  Every 
ship  comes  into  dock  every  nine  months  for  overhaul,  and 
the  impression  left  upon  me  by  the  material  is  that  it  is  in 
very  good  order  and  not  at  all  worn.  I  do  not  see,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  naval  material  or  men,  why  this  war  should 
not  go  on  for  ever.  I  went  off  next  to  the  submarine  K  7, 
Commander  Kellett,  which  is  one  of  the  latest  type.  She 
is  339  feet  long,  and  I  think  1300  tons  displacement,  with 
4  bow  and  4  beam  tubes,  and  with  sixteen  21 -in.  torpedoes 
carried  in  all.  She  can  submerge  in  2|  minutes,  and  her 
speed  is  24  knots  on  the  surface  and  10  submerged.  Her 
class  is  intended  to  accompany  the  Fleet,  which  will  thus 
have  many  fresh  advantages  if  it  fights  again.  I  was 
taken  round  the  ship.  There  is  a  very  narrow  gangway 
in  the  interior,  only  just  enabling  one  man  at  a  time  to  pass 
along  it.    We  traversed  compartment  after  compartment, 


1917]  THE  K  SUBMARINES  19 

each  a  complete  box  of  t  ricks .  There  are  only  two  periscopes 
from  which  one  obtains  what  seems  to  me  a  very  moderate 
view  of  the  sea  and  objects  on  it,  and  they  seem  to  be 
capable  of  great  improvement.  The  periscopes  are  near 
to  each  other,  and  there  are  no  spare  ones.  The  two  masts 
for  the  wireless  disappear  into  the  ship  on  the  pocket - 
pencil  system.  There  is  only  one  3-in.  gun  on  deck,  and 
it  remains  where  it  is  when  the  vessel  is  submerged  and 
seems  to  come  to  no  harm.  There  are  positions  for  two 
4-in.  guns,  but  the  guns  have  been  removed  for  the  arma- 
ment of  merchant  ships  !  I  was  told  by  the  commander 
that  the  torpedoes  are  bad,  and  that  recently  he  had  a 
sitting  shot  at  a  German  submarine  and  that  his  torpedoes 
ran  like  porpoises,  jumping  up  and  down,  and  finally 
diving  under  the  hostile  craft. 

I  was  amused  by  stories  of  Sir  W.  Robertson  aboard  the 
submarines.  After  seeing  a  small  type  in  which  he  could 
scarcely  move  or  breathe  or  stand,  R.  worked  his  way  aft 
and  out.  He  then  turned  to  the  commander  and  asked 
if  he  liked  the  life.  The  commander  said  he  did,  where- 
upon R.  gave  a  grunt  and  a  glance,  and  said,  '  Umph, 
well  you  "re  d — d  easily  pleased.'  In  visiting  the  K  7 
R.  stuck  in  a  tight  place  where  I  had  a  difficulty  in  wedging 
my  way  through  a  narrow  spiral  kind  of  hole.  The  com- 
mander, who  was  in  front,  seized  R.'s  leg  and  tried  to  plant 
the  foot  belonging  to  it  in  the  right  place,  but  R.  resisted 
stoutly  and  would  not  let  the  leg  go.  There  was  a  tug 
of  war  for  the  leg,  and  at  last  the  commander  had  to  let 
go  owing  to  the  explosive  language  of  the  C.I.G.S.  which 
t breatened  to  sink  the  K 7. 

Captain  Little,  of  the  mother  boat  of  the  (lot ilia,  oame 
on  board  with  his  wife,  and  we  all  had  an  excellent  tea 
in  a  very  decent  ward  room,  alias  gangway.  There  were 
beape  "i  cakes  and  jams.  There  is  even  a  bathroom  for 
the  crew  on  this  boat.  The  men  gel  2s.  Bd.adaj  extra  pay, 
and  only  one  0T  two  Ere  b  handfl  are  taken  mi  at  a  time. 
The  boat  is  said  t<»  roll  fearfully  in  a  Beaway,  the  roll  only 
tab  oonds.     I  am  told  thai  the  director  system  of 

VOL.   IF.  C 


20  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

control  was  only  fitted  to  a  few  ships  at  the  outbreak  of 
war,  whereas  every  German  ship  had  it,  and  their  fire  was 
faster,  more  accurate,  and  better  concentrated  on  objectives 
in  turn  than  was  ours.  Our  battle  cruiser  squadron  fire, 
for  example,  is  now  said  to  be  60  per  cent,  better  than  it 
was.  Our  submarines  now  go  and  lie  up  on  the  probable 
routes  of  outgoing  and  incoming  German  submarines  and 
try  to  catch  them.  Here  the  microphones  are  valuable. 
The  officers  thought  that  if  we  had  possessed  good  mines 
we  could  have  prevented  the  German  craft  from  putting 
to  sea.  Now  we  have  a  few  good  mines  which  cannot  be 
swept,  and  they  go  off,  at  any  time  an  hour  after  being 
placed,  by  the  vibration  of  the  engines  of  ships  passing 
within  their  zone  of  explosion.  This  ought  to  worry  the 
Huns  a  good  deal. 

I  asked  why  it  was,  since  the  submarine  was  known 
before  the  war,  that  nothing  had  been  done  to  overcome 
her.  The  Admiral  had  told  me  that  Winston's  claim  to 
have  overcome  her  was  an  idle  boast,  as  the  submarine  was 
not  a  serious  menace  at  the  opening  of  the  war.  The  sub- 
marine officers  thought  that  their  service  had  not  been 
in  existence  long  enough  to  bring  to  the  top  of  affairs  men 
who  understood  it,  and  so  their  standpoint  failed  to  secure 
adequate  recognition  and  understanding.  It  is  thought 
that  nothing  larger  than  the  K  7  will  be  built  during  the 
war.  The  21 -in.  torpedoes  range  up  to  7000  yards,  but  the 
endeavour  always  is  to  secure  a  1000  yards  range  before 
firing.  I  should  mention  that  on  the  Q.  E.  all  the  15-in. 
guns  can  be  fired  together  from  the  control  station,  or  by 
individual  pairs  of  guns,  or  by  single  guns.  In  case  the 
control  is  carried  away  there  are  other  methods  of  firing, 
but  the  central  control  gives  by  far  the  best  results.  The 
splash  of  hostile  shells  which  fall  short  drenches  the  conning 
tower  and  bridge  with  spray,  and  the  conning  tower  is  not 
a  very  good  place  from  which  to  handle  a  ship  in  action. 
The  periscopes  of  the  submarine  are  not  obscured  by  being 
under  the  water,  which  rather  cleanses  them.  They  are 
only  obscured  by  spray,  and  submerging  cleans  them. 


OUR  TONNAGE  LOSSES  21 

Tuesday.  August  7.  Another  talk  with  Hardinge  this 
morning.  We  discussed  our  tonnage  losses.  We  have  lost 
over  L500  merchant  ships  and  nearly  600  fishing  boats  since 
the  war  began,  with  a  net  tonnage  of  4,774,000.  Over 
2,000.000  tons  have  been  lost  in  the  last  six  months,  February 
to  July  1917  inclusive.  Our  other  Allies  and  the  neutrals 
have  lost  between  1,000.000  and  2,000,000  tons.  The  total 
losses  of  Allies  and  neutrals  are  8,105,000  tons  since  the 
war  began  and  op  to  the  end  of  July.  These  figures  are  at 
gent  quite  unknown  to  the  country.  The  great  mass 
of  the  loss  is  due  to  submarines,  and  I  think  that  about 
one-fifth  is  put  down  to  mines.  The  losses  due  to  enemy 
cruisers  is  insignificant  by  comparison.  H.  thinks  that 
50  per  cent,  of  the  Territorials  sent  to  India  had  D.P.  rifles 
only.  They  were  without  a  change  of  clothing.  Their 
15  pr.  guns  had  ammunition  marked  '  not  to  be  used  for 
practice,  and  to  be  regarded  as  an  extra  war  risk  on  service  '  ! 
The  Territorials  became  fine  troops  in  six  months.  Hardinge 
asked  my  opinion  about  the  Dardanelles  and  Bosphorus 
and  a  possible  American  guardianship.  I  said  that  I  was 
for  it.  as  the  least  dangerous  of  all  the  solutions,  and  he  was 
for  it  too.  He  says  that  the  Cabinet  cabled  to  him  in 
September  1914  that  they  had  agreed  to  place  all  the  military 
resources  of  India  under  Lord  K.  Hardinge  had  protested, 
and  had  said  that  they  had  been  placed  under  him  by  Act 
of  Parliament  and  could  only  be  withdrawn  from  him  by 
another  Act,  but  in  this  case  he  would  refuse  to  be  responsible 
for  maintaining  order  since  he  would  be  deprived  of  the 
means  for  doing  so.  This  caused  the  Cabinet  to  collapse. 
H.  tells  me  that  he  visited  a  small  shipyard  yesterday  and 
found  all  the  materials  arriving  for  the  standardised  ships, 
each  part  plainly  marked,  and  he  was  told  that  if  the  engines 
could  be  obtained  the  ships  ooukl  be  built  in  five  months. 

In  the  afternoon  we  motored  over  t<>  sec  the  Torby  girls 
and  their  husband*.  A  jolly  party  in  the  garden  of  a 
ohermiiifl  house,  and  wit  h  1  hem  were  1  he  3  ounger  Battenberg 

and    Michael   Torby.      I    found    it    difficult    to    remember   all 
theil    new    names,    but    Nad  a    Torby    who    married    IYin 


22  THE  GEAND  FLEET 

George  of  Battenberg  is  now  Lady  Medina,  and  on  his  cabin 
is  the  name  Lieutenant  Medina.  They  say  that  some  one 
introduced  her  the  other  day  as  '  the  late  Princess  George 
of  Battenberg.'  We  ate  fruit  in  a  fine  kitchen  garden. 
There  is  only  one  gardener  :  the  house  party  have  to  garden 
also.  Coming  home  Magdalen  Rycroft  drove  the  small 
Ford  car  ;  we  nearly  killed  two  cyclists,  and  M.  R.  said 
unconcernedly  that  the  car  had  run  away  with  her. 

Wednesday,  August  8.  Lady  Londonderry — who  joined 
our  party  at  Alloa  on  Sunday — Lord  Hardinge,  and  I 
motored  over  to  Rosyth,  and  were  taken  to  the  Lion  battle 
cruiser  in  a  launch  by  Flag -lieutenant  Spicer.  She  was 
lying  below  the  Forth  Bridge,  and  this  great  structure 
looked  colossal  as  we  passed  under  it.  Lunched  with 
Admiral  Pakenham,  his  staff,  and  some  ladies.  Hardinge 
and  I  went  round  the  ship  afterwards.  The  '  Battle 
Cruiser  Fleet '  has  now  become  the  '  Battle  Cruiser  Force,' 
which  will  amuse  Arthur  Balfour,  who  wondered  what 
Beatty  would  do  about  it,  and  whether  he  would  preserve 
the  two  separate  fleets.  It  has  two  divisions  of  battle 
cruisers  and  four  of  light  cruisers.  To  the  latter  Admiral 
Napier  has  just  been  appointed,  and  it  is  a  popular  service. 
There  are  destroyers  and  K  submarines  with  the  B.C.  Force. 
An  interesting  captain  of  the  Lion ;  and  I  also  met  Captain 
Heaton  Ellis  who  has  been  naval  attache  at  Paris  and  is 
returning  there.  The  Admiral  was  very  flattering  about 
my  articles  and  about  old  papers  which  I  had  written  while 
military  attache  years  ago.  The  captain  of  the  Lion  had 
been  with  Callaghan  when  the  latter  tried  to  defend  England 
in  the  manoeuvres  of  1912.  He  said  that  my  '  Colonel  von 
Donner  und  Blitzen '  letters  had  correctly  represented 
their  view  of  their  case  in  the  problem  set  to  them — an 
amusing  commentary  on  the  sneers  of  the  amateur  naval 
strategists  at  the  time. 

The  anchorage  below  the  bridge  is  said  to  be  very  bad 
in  November  and  later,  and  very  rough  at  times.  Scapa 
is  preferred  as  it  is  not  so  crowded,  whereas  here,  if  an  anchor 
drags,  a  ship  taken  by  the  tide  may  be  on  the  top  of  her 


1917]  THE  LION  23 

neighbour  very  quickly.  I  asked  the  captain  about  the 
torpedoes.  He  said  that  they  were  all  right,  but  that  when 
fired  from  a  submarine  the  boat  must  be  absolutely  trimmed, 
otherwise,  if  the  nose  of  the  submarine  is  pointing  upwards, 
the  torpedo  will  rise  to  the  surface  and  begin  to  porpoise. 
The  captain  and  Spicer  took  us  round  parts  of  the  Lion. 
Bcatty  fought  the  first  part  of  the  Dogger  Bank  from  the 
((•lining  tower,  where  there  are  usually  some  twenty  people 
d urine  a  fight,  but  he  found  the  view  too  restricted,  and 
the  splash  of  the  enemy's  '  shorts  '  made  it  difficult  to  see. 
So  he  went  up  to  the  bridge  which  has  no  armour,  and  only 
seme  mattress  protection,  and  there  also  he  fought  the 
Jutland  fight.  No  bridge  or  mast  has  yet  been  carried 
away.  The  Lion  is  not  so  smart  as  the  Q.  E.,  but  she  takes 
!.  and  that  makes  a  lot  of  difference.  I  saw  the  new 
*  <  >tter  '  torpedo  which  is  being  used  as  I  suggested  in 
ckwood  in  1910.  It  is  smaller  than  the  ordinary  torpedo, 
and  I  am  told  that  the  system  works  well.  Pakenham 
looks  like  a  Spanish  grandee .  He  always  sleeps  fully  dressed, 
with  stiff  collar  and  shirt  and  all.  Napier  is  said  to  be  a 
big  man  in  appearance  like  a  Viking. 

In  the  evening  at  Alloa  we  discussed  the  Prince  of  Wales's 
marriage  to  a  non-royal  person.  H.,  Mar,  and  the  Ladies  M. 
and  L.  strongly  opposed  it,  affirming  that  it  would  ultimately 
mean  the  ruin  of  the  Monarchy  when  all  the  shabby  relatives 
— there  always  are  such  people — of  the  family  honoured, 
slaimed  cousinship  with  the  King.  I  thought  that  if  King 
Cophetua  married  a  beggar  maid  it  would  be  immensely 
popular,  bu1   1  was  in  a  minority  of  one. 

We  began  talking  of  Germany.     Hardinge  told  us  thai 

1  in v  divulgation  of  the  Kaiser's  letter  to  Tweedmouth  l 

Ik-   was  authorised  to   pay  a  large   sum  for  the  original, 

thai    he  was  just  too  laic,  a-   it    had   bees  already  sold. 

The   P.O.  had  the  letter  now.     II.  said  thai    my  action 
in  n-vcaling  1 1n-  letter  was   not   only  comet    bul   a   very 

great    public    service,    and    that     had    the    letter    been    pub- 
lished at  the  time.  1  he  A  <|iiil  h  (  k>l  61  nnient  must   have  been 
1  1  <t  th<  1-  >.t  "i  thii  I'  tn  r.   <•<    I  tblfl  and  0o.). 


24  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

upset  as  the  letter  was  so  much  worse  than  any  one  imagined. 
Hardinge  said  that  after  this  affair  he  had  accompanied 
King  Edward  to  Germany.  The  King  had  been  commis- 
sioned to  speak  to  the  Kaiser  in  the  sense  of  a  paper  drawn 
up  by  the  Cabinet,  telling  the  Kaiser  that  if  he  interfered 
any  more  with  our  naval  matters,  war  might  result.  King 
Edward  was  with  the  Kaiser  all  one  morning,  but  he  had 
talked  of  everything  else  except  the  famous  letter,  and  had 
then  told  Hardinge  to  do  the  work  for  him.  So  H.  had 
taken  it  on  and  had  spoken  to  the  Kaiser  very  plainly  in 
the  sense  of  the  Cabinet  minute.  Bang  Edward  looked  on 
from  a  distance,  watching  the  scene  closely.  I  don't  think 
that  Hardinge  minced  matters.  The  Kaiser  was  extremely 
angry,  and  his  suite  saw  his  anger  and  would  not  speak  to  H. 
But  eventually  the  Kaiser  calmed  down,  and  in  the  end  gave 
H.  the  Grand  Cross  of  the  Red  Eagle,  which  H.  did  not  want 
but  thought  it  politic  to  advise  the  King  that  he  should  accept. 
Thursday,  August  9.  I  talked  Paris  with  Hardinge  in 
the  morning.  I  said  that  I  had  been  surprised  to  hear  him 
say  that  Frank  Bertie  was  the  best -informed  man  in  Paris. 
H.  said  that  M.  Cambon  was  of  the  opinion  which  he 
had  stated,  and  that  Jules  Cambon  also  agreed  with  it. 
Bertie,  he  said,  wrote  home  a  great  number  of  excellent 
letters.  He  was  heart  and  soul  for  the  war  and  for 
France,  and  H.  thought  it  right  to  support  him  if 
only  for  this  reason.  H.  also  thought  that  international 
finance  was  opposed  to  Bertie  and  fostered  the  intrigues 
against  him.  I  said  that  the  Paris  Embassy  showed  no 
sign  of  life,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  and  might  be  made 
a  centre  of  social  and  political  life  in  Paris,  and  that 
what  was  needed  was  a  grand  seigneur  who  knew  how  to 
do  things  properly  and  had  the  wherewithal  to  do  them. 
H.  said  that  there  was  certainly  no  diplomatist  of  out- 
standing merit  in  our  service,  and  we  agreed  that  the 
danger  was  that  some  used-up  politician  might  be  un- 
loaded into  the  Embassy  to  get  rid  of  him.  H.  asked 
whether  any  one  was  in  my  mind  for  the  post.  I  said 
Lord    Londonderry,   who    had    the    means    necessary    to 


1917]         THE  PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  25 

make  the  Embassy  all  it  should  be,  and  that  he  and  his 
wife  presented  well  and  had  the  qualities  necessary  for 
the  work.  We  agreed  that  a  great  diplomat  de  airricre 
was  not  needed  now.  as  missions  went  over  the  water  on 
every  lort  of  occasion.  Even  then  the  Embassy  did  not 
take  them  in,  not  even  the  P.M.,  and  that  it  Mas  quite 
wrong.  H.  said  that  Beitie  ought  to  insist  upon  L.  G. 
going  to  him. 

We  then  talked  of  Hardingc's  own  position.  I  said 
that  I  did  not  see  how  he  could  be  spared  from  the  F.O. 
until  the  completion  of  the  peace  negotiations.  H.  agreed, 
and  said  that  he  was  busy  preparing  the  machinery  for 
the  Congress.  He  had  listed  secretaries,  clerks,  and  typists 
Mho  knew  French,  and  he  had  ready  a  complete  printing 
press  to  take  over,  and  even  safes  for  documents.  All 
was  ready.  He  had  even  made  preparations  for  a  separate 
peace  with  Turkey,  and  had  drafted  a  memorandum  to 
serve  as  a  basis  for  negotiations.  I  said  that  this  news 
pleased  me  very  much  and  that  it  was  good  staff  work, 
but  that  the  names  of  the  negotiators  must  be  a  great 
wony  to  him.  H.  thought  that  L.  G.  would  insist  upon 
going  to  take  the  lead  and  would  not  trust  any  one  else. 
Balfour  should  certainly  go.  I  said  that  Lansdowne  would 
be  invaluable,  and  ought  to  be  kept  in  cotton  wool  for  the 
event . 

H.  agreed,  but  said  that  Austen  Chamberlain  spoke 
och  well,  and  had  never  been  used  at  the  Conferences. 
H.  thought  that  L.  G.  had  intended  to  send  Chamberlain 
to  Paris,  but  that  now  he  was  out  of  the  Government  he 
mighi  not  worry  about  him,  and  H.  did  not  know  how 
the  matter  stood  at  present.  Respecting  the  Embassy 
itself,  H.  admitted  my  idea  that  it  should  become  a  great 
social  centre,  but  said  that  £11,000  a  year  was  allowed  for 
tin  Embassy,  and  that  this  was  enough  to  enable  an 
Ambassador  to  do  I  hinge  well.  The  F.t  >..  he  said,  was  now 
pfetty  well  manned.  Crowe  was  iii  to  take  H.'s  place, 
but  owing  to  in    German  relativee  he  could  not,  in  the 

present     State    oi    public    opinion,    be   given    the    post    nor 


26  THE  GRAND  FLEET 

be  sent  abroad  as  Ambassador.  The  F.O.  contemplated 
a  great  trade  department  after  the  war  with  Crowe  at  its 
head,  and  H.  believes  that  the  Associated  Chambers  of 
Commerce  would  support  the  plan,  even  if  the  Board  of 
Trade  fought  it.  H.  said  that  he  had  called  home  Ronald 
Graham  from  Egypt.  He  was  a  real  good  man,  and  if 
H.  eventually  went  to  Paris,  Graham  could  succeed  him 
after  another  year  of  training.  Sir  George  Clerk  was 
also  an  excellent  man,  Vansittart  quite  good,  and  Max- 
Muller  very  clever. 

Drove  with  Lady  Mar  to  see  her  open  a  bazaar  near  by. 
She  made  an  excellent  speech  and  was  very  well  received, 
many  nice  things  being  said  about  her  work  for  Clack- 
mannan and  Kinross.  Miss  Christie,  lady  of  the  manor, 
and  a  great  traveller  in  Central  Asia,  presided. 

Friday,  Aug.  10.  Took  leave  of  my  kind  host  and  hostess 
after  a  most  enjoyable  week  and  with  real  regret.  Travelled 
as  far  south  as  Carlisle  with  the  Hardinges,  and  the  Mars 
sent  with  us  a  sumptuous  lunch.  I  like  Hardinge  and 
trust  him.  I  put  him  down  as  a  straight  fearless  man 
who  is  working  for  the  good  of  the  country  alone,  and  I 
am  glad  to  have  met  him  away  from  London  and  to  have 
exchanged  ideas  with  him. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
THE  HARWICH  NAVAL  FORCES,  SEPTEMBER  1917 

Sir  \V.  Robertson  on  the  horrible  Low  Country  positions — General 
Petain's  victory  at  Verdun — Italian  successes — The  American  arrivals 
— Colonel  Mola  on  Italy's  need  of  steel — A  talk  with  Russian  friends  on 
Russian  affairs — A  bad  raid  on  Chatham — Down  to  Parkeston  Quay 
to  visit  Commodore  Sir  R.  Tyrwhitt — The  Centaur — System  of  naval 
command  on  the  coast — Tyrwhitt's  forces — German  and  British 
minefields — They  fail  to  stop  German  submarines,  but  they  stop  us — 
The  Dutch  trade  convoy — The  new  light-cruiser  class — Tyrwhitt's 
formation  while  cruising — The  Porte  flying  ships — An  early  Council 
of  War  at  the  Admiralty — The  Commodore  not  informed  about  our 
military  arrangements. 

Sunday  to  Sunday,  Aug.  12  to  19.  On  Wednesday  the 
15th,  appeared  in  the  Times  my  article  about  the  Grand 
Fleet  under  the  title  of  'The  Vigil.'  Monday,  I  saw 
Montmorency,  R.F.A.,  who  is  back  to  claim  the  Frank- 
fort peerage.  He  said  that  his  battery  fired  35,000 
-lulls  in  the  Arras  -  Bullecourt  operations,  and  that 
guns  now  held  on  for  14,000  rounds  instead  of  the  6000 
we  expected  formerly.  Tuesday,  I  lunched  with  Lady 
Canard:  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  Lady  Gwendoline, 
Wolkoff,  Sir  A.  Sinclair,  and  A.  Kerr-Clark.  Dined  with 
Lady  Randolph  the  same  night.  Winston  there,  looking 
;i  different  man  since  he  returned  to  office.  I  never  saw 
any  one  so  changed,  and  to  such  advantage,  in  so  short  a 
time.  On  Wednesday,  the  Canadians  took  Hill  70  and  a 
good  slice  north  of  Loos,  with  3000  casualties  as  it  turned 
out.  I  dined  Wednesday  at  Mrs.  Leeds's  again.  A  fresh 
attack  on  our  pari  east  oi  Spree  on  the  L6th,  Thursday, 
Langemarok  and  other  points  taken,  but  on  our  right  not 
muohprogref       l  Baw  Islington  at  the  India  Office  the  same 

Vol..    II.  1> 


28  THE  HARWICH  NAVAL  FORCES 

day,  and  we  discussed  the  question  of  the  King's  Commis- 
sions for  Indians,  which  I  propose  to  support  though  every 
one  in  the  Army  hates  it.     It  is  a  political  necessity. 

Dined  with  Lady  Cunard  on  Friday  17  :  General  Brancker 
of  the  Flying  Corps,  the  Italian  Ambassador  and  his  wife, 
Lady  Gwendeline,  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  and  Sir 
Thomas  Beecham.  The  latter  played  well  after  dinner 
upon  a  hard  and  unresponsive  piano.  Saw  a  Revue  on 
Saturday  called  '  Round  the  Map.'  In  spite  of  our  great 
losses  lately,  especially  in  officers,  the  house  was  full,  and 
people  who  wished  to  get  tickets  for  the  evening  were  being 
turned  away  in  shoals.  War  has  become  part  of  the  natural 
law  of  our  being,  and  people  go  about  as  though  no  war  was. 

Monday,  Aug.  20.  Lunched  at  the  Bath  Club  with  Sir  W. 
Robertson.  He  had  been  over  to  France  for  twenty-four 
hours  and  returned  on  Friday  last.  He  admitted  that  the 
Low  Country  positions  which  I  had  warned  him  and  others 
about  were  pretty  horrible,  but  of  course  they  had  been 
made  worse  by  the  rain.  All  had  been  ready  to  go  on  after 
the  attack  on  July  31,  but  since  then  the  rain  had  prevented 
the  movement,  and  of  course  the  enemy  had  been  able  to 
replace  his  beaten  divisions  and  to  wire  his  new  ground 
afresh.  This  was  hard  luck  on  Haig.  The  Germans  had 
withdrawn  22  divisions  for  repairs,  of  which  11  had  been 
withdrawn  on  the  Langemarck  front,  which  was  only  one- 
third  of  our  whole  front  of  attack.  We  had  withdrawn  11 
on  all  our  front,  mainly  because  of  the  drenching  which 
they  had  had,  and  of  course  some  of  the  German  withdrawals 
may  have  been  for  the  same  reasons.  The  French  this 
morning  had  attacked  on  both  banks  of  the  Meuse  at  Verdun, 
and  up  to  8  a.m.  had  taken  2000  prisoners.  R.  hoped  that 
the  number  might  be  increased  to  10,000  and  thought  that 
Petain,  who  had  18  divisions  in  the  fight,  and  more  hanging 
about,  had  a  good  chance  of  a  fine  success.  The  Italians 
had  taken  4700  prisoners  :  their  right  had  done  better  than 
their  left.  Only  the  1918  German  class  had  yet  been  found 
in  the  field.  G.H.Q.  had  reported  the  1919  class  among 
the  prisoners,  but  on  cross-examination  it  turned  out  to  be 


1917]  BATTLES  AND  MEN  29 

one  man  only,  and  he  could  not  be  found.  But  the  French 
had  not  yet  put  in  their  1918  class.  Though  the  Germans 
were  putting  in  their  boys  of  18,  R.  did  not  wish  us  to  put 
in  ours  of  18  years  8  months,  as  some  people  wished.  He 
would  wait  till  they  were  19,  and  he  judged  by  his  own  boy 
who  was  still  only  a  boy.  I  agreed  and  added  that  it  would 
be  better  now  to  keep  them  at  home  in  barracks  till  the 
spring,  and  send  our  B  and  C  men  into  the  trenches.  If 
the  boys  were  sent  into  the  trendies  for  the  winter,  I  thought 
that  many  would  crack  up  and  would  lose  their  fire  by  the 
spring.  R.  thought  this  a  good  idea,  and  I  added  that  of 
course  it  all  depended  on  how  we  were  oft'  for  men,  and  that 
I  had  not  inquired  into  this  matter  lately.  R.  said  that 
we  were  about  50,000  infantry  down  in  France  in  the  aggre- 
gate, but  this  meant  a  larger  deficit  proportionately  at  the 
actual  front.  If  we  were  not  more  down  it  was  because  of 
our  estimated  losses  of  100,000  men  a  month  had  not  been 
reached  lately.  We  had  only  lost  50,000  since  July  31. 
But  we  would  certainly  be  much  more  down  before  the  end 
of  October,  though  he  had  just  scraped  up  21,000  men  of 
all  sorts  at  home  and  was  sending  them  out,  and  was  not 
enlisting  men  for  cavalry  and  engineers. 

I  asked  about  his  500,000  A  men  by  August.  He  said 
that  everybody  knew  that  they  had  not  been  obtained. 
I  denied  this,  and  asked  how  people  could  know  if 
tiny  were  not  told,  and  that  I  did  not  know.  R.  said 
that  nearly  two-thirds  had  been  obtained.  Smuts  and 
Milner  formed  a  sub-committee  of  the  War  Cabinet  to  look 
after  Man-Power,  but  Milner  was  all  for  men  for  agriculture, 
and  we  were  just  giving  him  80,000  whom  he  said  he  could 
not  do  without.  The  War  Cabinet  tried  to  make  out  that 
the  OOUntry  OOUld  not  find  more  men,  but  R.  did  not  agree 
with  them.  11.  admitted  L.  <  J.'s  diiliculties,  but  still  we  could 
not  win  battles  without  men.  El.  said,  in  reply  to  a  question 
from  11  if.  t  ii.ii  the  War  Cabinet  were  all  right  about  peaoeand 
meant  to  Bee  the  t  hing  through,  but  war  was  a  hard  business, 
and  th<-  Cabinet  was  doI  very  well  manned  fox  waging  war. 
1  told  him  that  the  W.O.  and  Derby  would  soon  be  attacked 


3o  THE  HARWICH  NAVAL  FORCES 

on  the  subject  of  men.  I  said  that  I  knew  that  the  G.S. 
had  warned  the  War  Cabinet  time  after  time  and  no  later 
than  Saturday  last,  but  this  had  been  going  on  for  ten 
months,  and  the  question  was  why  the  Army  Council  did 
not  insist.  However,  I  said  that  Lovat  Fraser  was  just 
off  to  France,  and  I  would  see  whether  we  could  not  concoct 
something. 

Munitions,  said  R.,  were  coming  along  well,  but  the 
18  pounders  were  still  behind  owing  to  the  arming  of  the 
merchant  ships.  The  Americans  had  only  25,000  men  in 
France,  and  the  French  idea  that  there  would  be  500,000 
in  the  spring  was  absurd.  Ten  divisions  was  all  that  R. 
counted  on,  and  that  would  only  be  half  the  500,000.  He 
said  that  the  French  were  planting  down  the  American 
divisions  at  different  places,  as  they  had  wished  to  plant 
ours.  The  first  American  division  was  not  expected  to  be 
fit  to  go  into  the  line  before  Christmas.  I  asked  about 
Salonika.  R.  said  that  he  was  getting  another  division 
away  and  that  it  would  arrive  at  Gaza  next  month.  Allenby 
had  wanted  it  this  month,  but  it  could  not  be  done.  Allenby 
would  get  all  the  men  and  guns  that  he  had  asked  for,  and 
R.  hoped  that  he  would  give  the  Turks  a  good  leathering. 
It  was  not  yet  sure  which  way  the  Turkish  divisions  at 
Aleppo  would  go,  Gaza  or  Bagdad.  It  was  not  true  that 
there  were  any  German  divisions  on  these  fronts.  There 
were  only  some  German  leaders  and  a  few  machine-gun 
companies.  Maude  was  all  right,  and  had  been  pretty  well 
fitted  out  as  he  wished.  Maude  had  nowhere  to  go  to  now, 
and  R.  doubted  how  the  Turks  would  feed  their  men,  in 
spite  of  the  talk  of  motor  transport  for  them.  We  then 
discussed  the  Navy,  and  R.  agreed  that  it  would  be  good  to 
have  a  smart  liaison  officer  with  Beatty,  and  promises  to 
see  to  it.  He  should  be  a  man  able  to  help  Beatty  in 
organisation.  I  told  R.  about  views  regarding  invasion,  and 
of  the  improbability  of  Beatty  doing  anything  but  hunt  the 
German  Navy.  R.  said  that  Beatty  wanted  to  be  a  member 
of  the  War  Staff,  and  R.  totally  disagreed  with  this  view. 
R.  thought  that  there  was  nothing  for  us  but  to  go  on. 


1917]  COMMISSIONS  FOE  INDIANS  31 

Haig  thought  that  he  was  killing  a  lot  of  Germans.  The 
armies  were  ready  to  go  on  to  the  Rhine,  but  R.  had  found 
sane  views  to  prevail  at  G.H.Q.  at  his  last  visit.  By  only 
advancing  1000  yards  at  a  time  we  covered  our  men  well  by 
our  guns,  and  when  the  enemy  counter-attacked  he  suffered 
severely.  The  German  guns,  being  kept  far  back,  did  not 
help  so  much  as  ours.  The  Russians  were  counting  upon 
us  to  go  on,  and  so  were  the  Italians.  It  was  not  worth 
while  waiting  till  the  spring  if  only  ten  American  divisions 
would  then  be  in  line.  We  must  keep  on  hitting  the  enemy, 
and  should  in  time  get  to  the  bottom  of  him.  R.  has  views 
for  Murray  in  Home  Defence,  and  seems  disposed  to  make 
changes  here.  He  also  wonders  whether  he  should  not 
make  some  changes  at  the  War  Office,  where  men  had  been 
working  all  the  three  years  without  a  break.  We  discussed 
King's  Commissions  for  India,  which  I  have  supported  in 
the  Times  of  this  morning.  We  both  disliked  the  idea,  and 
did  not  conceal  from  ourselves  that  it  was  a  revolutionary 
change.  The  Army  Council  had  been  consulted,  but  had 
not  expressed  any  opinion,  as  the  Cabinet  knew  the  whole 
matter  and  it  was  one  for  their  decision.  Carson  and  Long 
in  the  Cabinet  were  against  the  change,  and  Curzon  strongly 
for  it.     In  any  case  the  Cabinet  had  approved  the  change. 

Tuesday,  Aug.  21.  Lunched  at  the  Italian  Embassy  in 
Grosvenor  Square  with  the  Imperialis  :  Ansaldo  Pallavicino, 
and  two  de  Saks  boys,  back  wounded  from  France,  also 
there.  A  good  talk  with  the  Ambassador.  He  was  very 
-mastic  about  the  Russian  Revolution  and  our  delight 
with  it  when  it  came  about.  We  were  all  delighted  with 
( adorna's  success  this  week  on  the  Carso.  The  eldest  de  Salis 
says  that  Cardinal  Gasparri  is  the  centre  of  Papal  activity 
at  Rome,  and  that  Father  Langdon,  Cardinal  Gasqucl  s 
secretary,  is  very  capable.  Imperiali  thought  that  the  Pope 
Wishefl  tO  diflh  the  Socialists  by  taking  up  his  present  attitude 
about  peace.  Pallavicino  said  that  Cadorna  had  diverted 
much  of  the  Isonzo  into  another  river,  and  that  consequent  ly 
the  Italian  troops  were  able  to  cross  the  river  on  a  broad 
fronl  and  to  u.ido  it  in  parts.     A  lot  of  talk  of  British  and 


32  THE  HAEWICH  NAVAL  FORCES 

Italian  politics.  In  the  evening  I  went  down  to  the  Times 
and  arranged  with  Lovat  Eraser,  who  goes  to  France  on 
Thursday,  that  he  should  look  carefully  into  the  question 
of  men,  and  that  the  Times  should  then,  if  necessary,  commit 
a  calculated  indiscretion.  Geoffrey  Dawson — as  our  editor 
now  calls  himself — joined  us,  and  I  told  him  that  people 
doubted  whether  he  would  help  owing  to  his  intimate  re- 
lations with  Milner,  who  was  on  the  manning  sub-committee 
of  the  Cabinet.  I  told  him  how  the  Army  stood  for  men, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  Fraser  should  go  over,  ascertain  all 
the  facts  in  France  if  he  could,  and  then  see  Milner  and 
Geddes  after  his  return.  We  shall  see.  I  do  not  much 
care  for  parleying  with  the  War  Cabinet  when  we  may  have 
to  attack  them. 

Wednesday,  Aug.  22.  Lunched  with  a  friend  at 
Claridge's.  In  the  dumps  because  her  sitting  to  Laszlo 
this  morning  had  been  a  failure.  L.  had  been  in  a  fury 
about  something.  The  dress  chosen  by  L.  was  all  wrong, 
and  everything  was  wrong,  and  she  was  in  despair  about 
it.  Dined  with  Mrs.  Leeds  at  Kenwood.  Only  Lady  Paget 
and  Lady  Sarah  there.  Lady  P.  and  I  doubled  hearts  and 
put  the  others  700  above  the  line  in  one  hand.  A  story  of 
Laszlo 's  arrest.  No  smoke  without  fire,  and  something 
must  have  occurred  to  account  for  L.'s  temper  to-day. 

Friday,  Aug.  24.  Wrote  an  article  on  the  military 
situation  on  all  fronts.  Drove  down  to  lunch  at  Cam- 
bridge Cottage.  Stopped  to  see  Baron  de  Forest's  house 
and  pictures  at  Hurst  House,  Coombe  Warren.  A  very 
pleasant  house  with  fifty-two  acres  of  attractive  grounds 
and  a  fair  view.  Some  quite  fine  pictures  including  three 
by  Vandyck,  a  good  Franz  Hals,  a  great  picture  of  Lot's 
wife  by  Rubens,  two  splendid  portraits  by  Flinck,  an 
attractive  Holy  Family  by  Murillo,  and  a  great  many  other 
fine  things,  selected  with  good  taste.  The  large  Vandyck 
of  the  Buckingham  family  and  the  Rubens  came  from 
Blenheim.     Much  of  Baron  Hirsch's  racing  plate  about. 

Saturday,  Aug.  25.  Among  the  cuttings  sent  me  to-day 
there  are  two  columns  from  the  New  Age  of  the  23rd, 


1917]  ITALIAN  CAMPAIGNS  33 

entirely  on  the  eigh     lim  ■  oJ   the  first    paragraph  of  my 

article  on  'The  Vigil'!  A  literary  disquisition  on  my 
style,  endeavouring  to  tear  it  to  pieces,  and  very  amusing, 
with  much  about  onomatopoeia,  spondees,  amphibrachs,  etc. 
The  writer.  R.  H.  C,  discovers  apparently  that  my  prose 
i-  verse  or  blank  verse,  I  am  not  sure  which.  He  reminds 
me  of  Demetrius  of  Scepsis,  who  wrote  sixty  books  on 
twenty  lines  of  Homer.  In  the  midst  of  this  desolating 
war  R.  H.  C.  attaches  values  not  at  all  to  the  matter  but 
only  to  the  style.  But  lie  is  amusing,  and  he  says  that  the 
Government,  he  is  given  to  understand,  trembles  at  my 
periods.  Perhaps  because  they  do  not  know  what  an 
amphibrach  is,  any  more  than  I  do. 

Lunched  at  the  Ritz  with  Colonel  Mola,  head  of  the 
Italian  military  mission,  Count  Pallavicino,  and  another 
Italian  officer.  I  gather  that  Cadorna  would  like  to  move 
on  Laybach  if  he  had  enough  troops,  but,  failing  them, 
will  try  to  take  Trieste.  Cadorna  thinks  that  the  winter 
will  nut  permit  the  offensive  on  his  southern  front  which 
I  suggested,  but  Mola  thinks  that  if  we  could  reinforce 
them  with  guns  and  a  few  English  divisions  next  March, 
much  might  be  done  in  that  month,  and  then  our  forces 
could  be  back  in  France  by  April  for  the  work  of  next  spring 
and  summer.  Mola  is  going  to  send  me  a  memorandum 
on  munitions  to  show  to  Winston.  The  Italians  are  still 
anxious  about  them,  and  think  that  our  people  are  not 
helping  them  enough,  while  coal  continues  a  dangerous 
difficulty  to  them.  The  officers  were  a  trifle  sarcastic 
about  General  Porro,  and  want  me  to  go  to  Italy  and  talk 
with  Cadorna  again.  They  say  that  Boroevic  has  only 
three  divisions  left  in  reserve  on  the  Italian  front. 

Saw  Maurice  in  the  morning,  lie  -ays  that  we  Allies 
have   now   knocked   out    25  German    divisions,  and   that 

the    enemy    has    only    5    left     in    reserve    intact.      He    says 

that    Petain  has  concluded  his  operation  at    Verdun,  and 

h<-  will  now  move  his  guns  i"  the  ,\i  ne  and  knock 

tin-   Germans   there.      We  shall    JOOO    itart    an  attack  again 

en  a  broader  front,  ami  he  i.  not  Burprised  that  the  enemy 


34  THE  HARWICH  NAVAL  FORCES 

should  make  such  efforts  to  bar  our  approach  to  the  Passchen- 
daele  Ridge.  He  thinks  that  Mackensen  wished  to  seize 
the  mouths  of  the  Danube  in  order  to  bring  submarines 
into  the  Black  Sea,  dominate  it,  and  starve  the  Russians 
in  Armenia.  He  told  me  of  the  capture  of  Monte  Santo 
by  the  Italians,  which  is  good  business. 

Went  by  train  to  Marlow  in  the  afternoon  and  lunched 
with  Mrs.  Kay-Shuttle  worth  and  Mrs.  Bewicke,  Mrs. 
Turner,  E.,  and  Trotter  of  the  R.B.  We  then  went 
down  the  Thames  on  a  motor  launch  to  Maidenhead, 
dined  at  Skindles's,  and  returned  later.  The  river  very 
lovely  with  the  setting  sun  on  the  woods.  This  is  the 
second  time  only  I  have  been  on  the  river  since  the  war 
began  :  there  were  many  more  people,  and  plenty  of  khaki. 
Marlow  and  Maidenhead  full  of  parties,  but  not  the  old 
stamp  of  people  one  used  to  see.  I  heard  some  interesting 
things  about  the  endeavours  of  socialists  to  intrigue  with 
soldiers  in  the  camps,  and  about  our  difficulties  in  getting 
our  authorities  to  take  action  against  suspicious  characters, 
chiefly  aliens,  of  all  sorts.  It  is  due  I  fancy  to  the  number 
of  channels  which  reports  have  to  go  through  before  any 
executive  action  can  be  taken. 

Monday,  Aug.  27.  Spent  the  afternoon  at  Kenwood  to 
help  Mrs.  Leeds  entertain  forty  wounded  soldiers.  Started 
them  out  in  the  grounds,  but  presently  twenty  of  Mrs. 
Leeds's  maids  trooped  out,  many  of  them  pretty,  and  each 
took  two  soldiers  in  hand,  whereupon  I  thought  my  room 
preferable  to  my  company,  and  went  in  to  talk  and  have 
tea  with  Mrs.  L.  Lady  Sarah  and  Tony  Drexel  turned  up. 
Rain  came  on  and  the  soldiers  and  maids  adjourned  to  the 
servants'  hall,  where  the  men  had  a  great  dinner,  called 
tea,  provided  for  them.  Meat  and  vegetables,  tarts  and 
puddings.  Then  they  played  whist  and  sang  and  smoked, 
the  girls  playing  up  with  zest.  We  went  down  to  see 
them  at  '  tea.'  They  could  hardly  tear  themselves 
away. 

Tuesday,  Aug.  28.  Geoffrey  Dawson  lunched  with  me 
at  the  N.  and  M.,  and  we  had  a  long  talk  about  public 


1917]  ITALY'S  NEED  FOR  STEEL  35 

affairs.  It  is  agreed  that  I  write  on  the  Italian  battle  and 
on  Verdun,  and  go  to  France  in  two  or  three  weeks.  Fraser's 
journey  to  France  somewhat  of  a  failure.  He  had  not  seen 
any  generals  nor  had  he  learned  anything  about  the  men. 
He  is  very  irate  at  his  treatment,  and  thinks  that  G.  A. 
has  queered  his  pitch. 

Wednesday,  Aug.  2d.  An  exasperating  experience.  Wrote 
a  good  and  long  article  about  the  Verdun  victory.  A 
Times  boy  messenger  came  for  it,  and  lost  it  on  his  journey 
back  and  could  not  remember  where.  Later  Geoffrey 
asks  me  to  attend  the  boy's  funeral,  fixed  for  Saturday, 
after  his  execution. 

Thursday,  Aug.  30.  Wrote  an  article  on  Cadorna's  success 
and  sent  it  off.  No  news  of  the  Verdun  article.  Colonel 
Mola  sent  to  me  this  morning  a  short  paper  on  Italy's  need  of 
steel.  It  says  that  the  use  of  medium-sized  guns  has  greatly 
increased  and  that  the  number  of  rounds  wanted  is  very  large  ; 
that  Italy  does  not  produce  all  the  steel  required  for  these 
shells,  but  that  there  are  some  factories  in  a  position  to 
forge  the  billets  and  a  great  number  to  machine  the  forg- 
ings  if  the  raw  material  is  supplied.  He  says  that  the 
deliveries  of  the  quantity  asked  for  the  first  half  of  1917 
has  been  nearly  completed,  but  that  the  requirements 
for  the  two  last  quarters  of  this  year,  i.e.  23,280  tons  of 
shell  forgings  and  32,720  tons  of  shell  steel,  put  forward 
to  the  C.I.R.  on  July  3,  and  definitely  on  Aug.  11,  have 
not  yet  been  allocated.  I  saw  Winston  about  this  to-day, 
and  he  kept  three  copies  of  the  paper  which  I  am  sending 
rson  to-night,  as  it  is  the  War  Cabinet,  according 
to  Winston,  which  decides  between  rival  claimants.  I 
found  Winston  and  Eddy  Marsh  at  the  Munitions  Ministry. 
it  was  quite  like  old  tunes.  Winston  in  a  worn  grey  frock 
eoat .  Kvid'-nt  ly  delighted  to  be  back  at  work  and  is  working 
hard.  Be  is  fairly  happy  about  guns  and  shells,  and  ays 
thai  there  will  be  a  great  further  rise  in  the  supply,  and 
that  new  devilries  are  being  invented  to  tease  Suns. 
He  ia  getting  out  full  tatements  of  tonnage  and  output 
eel,  and  is  a  shopman  at  th<  orders  of  the  War  Cabinet . 


36  THE  HARWICH  NAVAL  FORCES 

He  finds  it  all  very  different  from  the  old  political  times, 
and  rarely  meets  his  colleagues.  He  just  works  all  day 
in  his  office,  and  the  work  keeps  him  from  worrying  about 
the  war.  He  says  that  the  trouble  with  the  engineers  is 
that  they  do  not  want  to  fight  at  the  front,  and  that,  if 
they  are  made  to,  they  will  strike  and  upset  the  whole 
national  apple-cart. 

President  Wilson's  reply  to  the  Pope's  peace  letter  out 
to-day.  A  smashing  indictment  of  Kaiserism.  Winston 
says  that  Wilson  personally  feels  a  passionate  fury  against 
Prussian  militarism.  He  has  now  certainly  put  America 
in  up  to  the  neck. 

Friday,  Aug.  31,  to  Monday,  Sept.  3.  Spent  a  delightful 
week-end  at  Seaton.  Weather  clearing  up.  The  little 
house  looking  very  pretty.  Mrs.  Harbord  and  her  boy 
dined  on  Sunday.  Went  to  look  at  Knoyle.  A  nice  little 
house,  high  up  with  a  lovely  view  eastwards  along  the 
coast.  The  trains  crammed.  Returning  to  London,  find  a 
nice  letter  from  M.  Cataigi,  secretary  of  the  Rumanian 
Legation  in  Paris,  thanking  me  for  my  recent  references 
to  Rumania — vide  the  Times  of  last  week — and  saying 
that  justice  is  not  often  done  in  the  Press  of  the  Allies 
to  his  unfortunate  country,  and  that  he  conveys  to  me 
the  deepest  gratitude  of  his  people.  Also  a  letter  from  Lady 
Ridley  from  Blagdon.  She  gives  me  her  views  about 
the  Stockholm  Conference,  the  Labour  Party,  and  the 
Pacificists,  and  declares  that  the  serpent  is  not  slain.  She 
also  says  that  she  feels  strongly  that  it  is  time  that  the 
Allies  published  to  the  world  some  rather  definite  terms 
in  which  they  would  treat  for  peace,  and  that  it  is  clear 
that  the  public  will  not  tolerate  being  shut  out  of  the  con- 
ference chamber,  so  secrecy  is  of  no  avail,  and  she  thinks 
that  a  reasoned  statement  would  clear  the  air  and  bring 
nearer  the  peace  we  want.  She  says  that  we  cannot  go 
on  for  ever  with  vague,  hazy  speeches,  and  if  the  Govern- 
ments will  not  act,  the  democracy  will.  Dr.  Scott-Keltie 
writes  to  ask  me  to  take  on  the  military  sections  of  the 
Statesman's  Year  Book,  but  I  shall  write  and  say  that  enemy 


1917]  RUSSIAN  AFFAIRS  37 

armies   are    a    matter    of    conjecture,    and    Allied    armies 
organisation  not  suitable  for  publishing. 

Tuesday,  Sept.  4.  Lunched  with  Nabokoff,  Wolkoff, 
and  General  Dessino  at  daridge's.  We  had  a  great  talk 
about  Russian  affairs.  Nabokoff  considers  that  Kerensky 
will  soon  be  a  page  of  history  which  we  shall  turn  over. 
He  thinks  that  a  conflict  between  the  better  elements  and 
the  Maximalists  must  come,  and  that  a  military  dictatorship 
under  Korniloff  or  some  other  is  probable.  We  discussed 
the  German  capture  of  Riga,  reported  yesterday.  Dessino 
thinks  that  the  Huns  want  it  for  winter  quarters,  that 
bad  weather  comes  on  usually  about  Sept.  15,  and  that 
the  Russians  will  destroy  the  railways.  All  of  them  spoke 
openly  of  the  cowardice  and  want  of  discipline  of  their 
troops.  A  feeling  prevails  among  them  that  peace  will 
come  soon,  and  Queen  Wilhelmina  was  suggested  as  a 
likely  channel  for  opening  negotiations  on  behalf  of  the 
womanhood  of  the  world.  They  think  the  Germans  are 
greatly  exhausted  and  will  snatch  at  peace.  Colonel 
Knox  back  from  Russia  and  very  pessimistic.  Nabokoff 
declares  that  Russia  does  not  want  Constantinople  and 
would  not  know  what  to  do  with  it.  He  approves  of  the 
idea  of  an  American  guardianship  and  guarantee.  Wolkoff 
wants  Armenia  to  be  independent,  and  Nabokoff  is  for  an 
independent  Poland.  He  thinks  that  the  German  African 
colonics  are  the  real  obstacle.  I  think  Alsace-Lorraine, 
but  X.  thinks  that  this  can  be  settled.  N.  says  that  L.  G. 
i-  very  nice  to  him.  but  in  reply  to  my  question  how  they 
wen-  being  treated  generally  he  was  less  emphatic.  They 
1h.1i  the  Maximalists  at  Petrograd  are  now  detested. 
It  Lb  probable  thai  the  loss  of  Riga  will  hasten  their  downfall. 
iJc.-sJMo  has  given  Sir  \Y.  R.  the  dales  when  the  Russian 
offensive  to  help  Maude  on  the  Persian  side  will  begin. 
Dessino  »ye  thai  Sukhomlinoff,  the  ez  War  Minister  who 
is  being  tried,  if  not  a  traitor,  bu1  married  an  extravagant 
wife  who  wanted  money,  v,,  g,  accepted  bribes,  and  once 
having  begun,  went  on.  Mrs.  Leeds  and  the  Grand  Duchi 
at  1  he  next  table. 


38  THE  HARWICH  NAVAL  FORCES 

I  had  a  talk  with  General  Shaw  and  Brinsley  FitzGerald 
at  the  Horse  Guards  afterwards.  Shaw  admits  that  there 
is  no  touch  between  French's  staff  and  the  Navy,  and  that 
there  should  be.  The  Admiralty  say  they  will  inform 
French's  staff  if  there  is  anything  that  will  interest  them, 
but  everything  interests  them,  and  they  get  nothing.  I 
said  that  I  thought  that  Tyrwhitt  was  the  cavalry  division 
of  the  Home  Defence  forces  and  ought  to  be  in  close  touch 
with  them.  Shaw  tells  me  that  at  Chatham  last  night 
there  were  100  sailors  killed  and  nearly  as  many  wounded 
in  a  drill  hall  where  men  were  quartered.  One  bomb  did 
it  all.  From  what  Brinsley  believes  I  expect  the  F.M. 
is  not  happy  about  our  Flanders  offensive.  The  French 
Ministers  and  Foch  are  over  here  for  another  conference. 
There  is  a  good  lot  to  talk  about  just  now.  I  hear  that 
some  of  Gough's  troops  have  been  taken  from  him.  Our 
Yser  offensive  seems  to  be  in  the  wind. 

At  11.50  p.m.  to-night  a  heavy  humming  of  aircraft 
heard,  a  rather  deep  metallic  note,  and  our  guns  opened 
in  this  district.  For  a  quarter  of  an  hour  a  good  deal  of 
firing,  and  the  servants  came  down  from  their  rooms  to  the 
basement.  Then  again  at  12.35  a.m.  more  humming  and 
more  firing,  lasting  till  12.50,  and  the  servants  came  down 
again,  not  in  the  least  alarmed.  The  harvest  moon  made 
the  night  nearly  as  bright  as  day,  and  there  was  very  little 
breeze.     I  went  out  and  could  see  nothing  of  the  enemy. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  5.  Went  down  to  Parkeston  Quay, 
10  a.m.,  to  spend  the  day  with  Commodore  Sir  R.  Tyrwhitt, 
R.N.,  commanding  the  Harwich  naval  forces.  On  the 
way  to  Liverpool  Street  I  saw  some  of  the  damage  done 
by  last  night's  raid.  A  house  in  the  Strand  was  wrecked 
and  much  glass  broken  :  one  bomb  had  fallen  in  a  narrow 
street  before  the  Charing  Cross  Hospital,  which  had  just 
been  missed.  The  police  prevented  me  from  going  along 
the  Embankment  east  of  Charing  Cross,  so  there  must  have 
been  a  mess  there  too.  A  large  house  in  Queen  Victoria 
Street  near  the  Times  office  was  internally  wrecked. 
Stratford,    and    other    places    eastward,    reported    much 


1917]  TYRWHITT'S  COMMAND  39 

damaged,  but  only  100  killed  and  wounded  reported  at 
present. 

Tyrwhitt  met  me  at  the  station.  A  very  attractive 
figure.  Parkeston  Quay  is  now  given  up  to  the  Navy  : 
the  qua}'  is  lined  with  cranes,  and  various  ships  were  along- 
side. We  went  aboard  the  Centaur,  which  is  T.'s  flagship, 
and  had  lunch.  I  went  all  round  the  ship  with  the  flag 
lieutenant.  She  lies  at  the  head  of  the  line  of  light  cruisers 
nearest  to  the  open  sea.  A  long  talk  with  the  Commodore 
alone  after  lunch  over  the  charts  of  the  North  Sea.  Then 
we  went  on  to  the  Porte  flying-boat  yards,  and  saw  these  new 
aircraft  put  out  and  come  home.  Tyrwhitt  took  me  back 
to  the  station  and  I  caught  the  5.39  p.m.  back  to  London. 

T.  is  under  the  orders  of  the  Admiralty  directly,  but  ho 
has  a  working  agreement  to  act  under  Beatty  if  they  are 
out  together,  and  he  and  Bacon  of  the  Dover  Patrol  help 
each  other.  There  is  an  Admiral  of  Harwich  whose  job 
is  to  sweep  certain  channels  of  mines,  but  ho  is  not  able 
to  give  T.  orders.  There  is  a  flotilla  of  submarines  in 
Harwich  harbour  also  not  under  T.,  but  they  again  work 
together.  The  day  of  Jutland  T.  got  no  orders,  so  put  to 
sea  with  all  his  force  and  made  for  the  area  which  he  would 
have  reached  at  4  a.m.  the  morning  after  the  fight  and 
probably  have  mopped  up  much,  but  tho  Admiralty  recalled 
him  peremptorily,  and  he  got  into  trouble  over  it.  He 
thinks  that  they  forgot  him.  A  most  extraordinary  system 
of  command,  as  there  are  also  commanders  of  destroyer 
and  submarine  divisions,  e.g.  at  Hull,  who  are  also  on  their 
own  and  there  is  no  assurance  of  co-operation.  T.  says 
that  there  are  a  lot  of  rajahs  along  the  coast  each  with  his 
own  domain,  and  he  thinks  that  there  should  be  an  Admiral 
at  the  Nore  is  command  of  all  the  East  coast.  But  ho 
thinks  that  Bacon-  job  in  the  Straits  should  be  separate, 
m  i'  is.  Roughly,  l^jrrwhitt's  domain  extends  from  latitude 
M  :;'>'  X.  to  aboul  51  '  30',  right  across  the  North  Sea  to 
the  Dutch,  German,  and  Danish  coasts,  lb'  has  it  lighl 
oruisen  and  24  <1<  troyers.  Bacon  has  86  destroyers  and 
the  monitor.-,.     Usually  "in    lighl  orui  ex  and  b  couple  of 


4o  THE  HARWICH  NAVAL  FORCES 

destroyers  of  Tyrwhitt's  force  are  under  repair,  and  the 
command  is  officially  designated  '  The  Harwich  Forces.' 
In  Tyrwhitt's  cabin  there  hangs  a  small  board  on  which  is 
shown,  by  little  brass  labels,  which  are  detachable  and 
hang  on  hooks,  the  position  of  each  vessel  under  him — 
about  41  in  all.  There  are  the  four  or  five  divisions  in  the 
two  destroyer  flotillas,  also  the  flotilla  leaders,  the  light 
cruisers,  the  ships  detached,  and  those  under  repair  locally 
at  a  naval  port.  It  is  '  form  at  a  glance,'  as  T.  says,  and 
the  exact  situation  of  the  whole  command  can  be  seen  in  a 
moment.  I  told  Tyrwhitt  that  Petain  would  be  pleased. 
It  was  just  his  plan  of  the  graphics  in  his  office. 

After  explaining  the  general  situation  as  regards  command, 
Tyrwhitt  showed  me  the  North  Sea  charts  on  which  are 
marked  the  positions  of  the  German  and  British  minefields, 
so  far  as  they  are  known.  There  are  two  large  German  mine- 
fields off  Harwich,  in  the  region  of  the  Galloper  Light  and 
to  north  of  it,  and  various  channels  through  or  round  these 
are  kept  open  by  our  mine -sweepers.  There  is  also  the 
long  main  channel,  N.  and  S.,  suitable  for  all  craft,  which 
is  kept  open  all  up  the  E.  coast.  All  these  are  swept  every 
day,  but  three  times  a  week  the  Germans  mine  them  with 
their  submarines,  and,  shortly  after  I  came  on  board  the 
Centaur,  one  of  the  mine -sweepers  returned  with  the  sur- 
vivors of  another  that  had  been  blown  up.  These  German 
minefields  are  not,  however,  the  main  obstacle  to  the  activity 
of  our  light  cruisers  and  destroyers  in  the  North  Sea.  The 
real  obstacles  are  our  own  minefields,  which  extend  in  a 
semicircle  across  the  German  North  Sea  shores,  from  about 
Blaavand  Point  in  N.  latitude  55°  30'  off  the  coast  of  Jutland, 
to  the  Dutch  territorial  waters  off  the  coast  near  the  Texel. 
It  is  a  huge  minefield  of  patches,  not  a  regularly  and 
uniformly  mined  area  throughout,  but  the  object  has  been 
to  create  a  barrier,  and  it  certainly  is  a  barrier  to  us.  Thus 
Tyrwhitt  can  no  longer  get  into  the  Bight  of  Heligoland, 
and  moreover  our  ships  escorting  or  towing  the  new  Porte 
flying  boats  cannot  take  them  within  120  miles  of  the 
German  ports  and  towns  overdue  to  be  bombed.     These 


1917]  NORTH  SEA  MINEFIELDS  41 

minefields  no  doubt  obstruct  the  German  Navy  too,  and 
have  probably  caused  the  loss  of  many  ships  and  submarines, 
especially  as  the  trend  of  the  current  takes  mines  which 
break  loose  towards  the  German  and  Danish  coasts,  but 
the  Germans  can  sweep  channels  if  they  like,  and  the  main 
object,  namely,  the  barring  of  the  road  to  the  submarines, 
has  wholly  failed  in  its  purpose. 

1  said  that  these  minefields  seemed  to  me  antagonistic  to 
the  principles  of  Nelson,  who  always  gave  every  opportunity 
t<>  tiie  enemy  to  put  to  sea,  because  it  was  there  he  '  ex- 
1  1  ted  to  realise  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  his  country.' 
The  Germans  eould  only  put  to  sea  with  difficulty,  except 
round  by  the  Skaw,  while  we  were  blocked  out,  and  could 
neither  scout  nor  harry  his  coast  towns  and  docks  with  our 
Porte  living  boats.  T.  said  that  that  was  the  position, 
and  he  could  not  be  off  the  German  coasts  with  his  light 
craft  because  he  could  not  now  get  there.  In  fact  his 
instructions  to  his  officers  were  that  he  did  not  expect 
them  to  cross  the  fine  of  the  mined  area,  leaving  it  thus 
Open  to  them  to  take  the  risk  if  the  occasion  warranted 
it.  but  covering  them  if  they  did  not.  He  knew  that  the 
public  thought  that  he  was  always  off  the  German  coasts, 
but  In-  was  not.  for  the  reasons  stated,  and  he  could  not 
rang<-  beyond  Terschelling.  From  this  point  to  Wilhelms- 
haven  was  L20  miles,  so  that  the  Porte  boats,  if  sent  to 
bomb  the  German  dockyard,  had  nearly  240  miles  more  to 
cover  than  if  our  mines  had  not  been  laid.  There  was  even 
a  question  now  of  -weeping  our  own  mines  away. 

One  of  big  duties  was  to  convoy  the  Dutch  trade  across 
onee  a  week.  It  came  in  with  its  destroyer  escort  while  I 
v.;i~  011  the  Centaur,  and  later  1  saw  a  small  crowd  of  young 
Dutchmen    or    Belgians     I    hope   our   spies   and    not   the 

nan       on  the  railway  platform.      We  hail  extended  OUT 

mined  ana  to  southward  to  point-  off  the  Dutch  coa  I 
which  win-  outside  territorial  water  bul  inside  the  navi- 
gable waters.  This  had  prevented  German  vessels  passing 
from  Dutch  i>"i  i  to  German,  bul  we  had  allowed  t  he  Dutch 
trade  b   safe  road    roughly .  bo  far  as  I  remember,  on  I  be 


42  THE  HARWICH  NAVAL  FORCES 

meridian  of  4°  E.,  and  this  line  was  marked  by  Dutch  light- 
ships. Tyrwhitt  thought  that  these  helped  the  Hun  sub- 
marines as  they  went  home,  for  they  picked  up  one  of  these 
ships,  and  then  received  instructions  from  home  how  to 
proceed  safely.  We  have  therefore,  it  seems  to  me,  com- 
pletely muddled  our  North  Sea  strategy. 

I  liked  the  new  light-cruiser  class.  They  are  about 
4000  tons,  30  knots  speed,  and  armed  with  five  6-in.  guns 
upon  the  centre  line,  besides  a  couple  of  Archies  each.  These 
are  the  latest,  for  some  have  fewer  6-in.  guns  and  less  well 
placed.  The  Centaur  was  as  spick  and  span  as  the  Queen 
Elizabeth  and  the  same  light-grey  colour.  So  smart  does 
she  look  that  when  some  American  sailors  came  on  board 
the  other  day  they  said  '  I  suppose  you  never  go  out  of 
harbour  !  '  It  is  the  oiling  that  allows  the  ship  to  be  so 
natty.  A  great  part  of  the  cubic  space  is  taken  up  by  the 
engines,  but  the  accommodation  and  light  are  infinitely 
superior  to  the  conditions  on  board  a  battleship,  and  the 
crew  are  most  comfortable,  as  are  the  officers. 

I  asked  Tyrwhitt  about  his  formations  when  cruising. 
Line  ahead,  he  said,  gave  the  submarines  too  good  a  target 
by  day,  so  he  usually  moved  in  certain  formations  which 
he  explained  to  me. 

The  day  formation  was  very  supple  and  he  could  turn 
in  any  direction.  He  never  steamed  less  than  20  knots. 
By  day  the  enemy's  torpedoes  could  usually  be  seen,  and 
it  was  quite  easy  for  any  single  ship  to  avoid  them.  All 
ships  had  depth  charges  which  they  let  go  over  a  submarine  if 
she  submerged.  It  was  odd  now  to  think  that  at  the  opening 
of  the  war  he  used  to  be  off  the  enemy's  coast  with  a  17  knot 
ship,  and  that  the  Grand  Fleet  cruised  about  the  North  Sea 
at  8  knots  without  destroyer  escort.  The  destroyers  had 
done  grand  work,  but  Bacon  worked  them  hard,  sometimes 
keeping  them  out  twenty-two  nights  in  succession,  and  they 
returned  to  T.  much  used  up.  Bacon's  barrier  extended 
across  the  Straits  from  the  South  Foreland  to  about  Dunkirk, 
but  the  storms  often  displaced  mines  and  nets. 

We  had  no  mines  at  the  Skaw.     This  area  was  watched 


1917]  THE  PORTE  FLYING  SHIPS  , 3 

by  the  tight-cruiser  divisions  of  the  Grand  Fleet.  They 
had  baby  seaplanes  on  board,  and  the  other  day  one  was 
loosed  at  a  Zepp.,  and  the  young  fellow  in  charge  rose, 
destroyed  her.  and  was  back  on  board  all  in  fifty-eight  minutes. 
For  Tyrwhitt  the  Zepp.  is  finished.  He  prefers  the  Porte 
flying  ships,  which  have  a  range  of  600  miles,  take  live  men, 
and  can  drop  1000  lbs.  of  explosives.  This  is  for  the  large 
Porte  with,  I  think.  230  feet  spread  tip  to  tip  and  weighing 
five  tons.  The  smaller  sort  is  only  80  feet.  We  visited 
the  sheds,  which  are  of  immense  size  and  cover  a  large  area 
near  the  sea  on  the  east  side  of  the  harbour.  The  boats 
are  like  canoes  in  appearance,  but  broad  and  on  fine  lines. 
T.  thinks  that  there  is  too  much  boat.  There  are  floats 
below  each  wing  to  prevent  an  upset  when  on  the  water. 
Two  bombs  are  hung  on  each  wing.  They  have  two  250  h.p. 
Rolls-Royce  engines,  but  new  ones  are  being  built  with 
three  350  h.p.  engines.  We  saw  one  launched  from  a 
wooden  pier  of  which  the  sea  end  floats  on  the  water.  She 
took  the  water  easily  and  after  getting  up  speed  rose  well, 
but  is  not  a  very  rapid  climber.  We  also  saw  one  come 
down  like  a  duck  into  the  water.  This  pier  was  patched 
because  it  was  bombed  the  other  day.  These  Porte  ships 
have  only  been  in  use  three  months.  They  are  the  terror 
of  the  submarines,  of  whom  they  have  already  accounted 
for  six.  They  do  a  nose  dive  at  them  and  let  the  bombs 
go  about  GOO  feet  from  the  sea.  Harwich  and  its  surround- 
ings have  been  constantly  bombed,  but  no  real  damage  has 
been  done  and  the  great  sheds  are  untouched.  It  is  prob- 
able tli.it  the  Ardiics  ashore  and  on  the  cruisers  mako  the 
Huns  wary. 

We  both  laughed  over  an  amusing  Council  of  War  held 
by  Win-ton  early  in  the  war.  All  1  he  Admirals  were  present 
and  asked  to  make  suggestions  for  offensive  operations. 
One  wished  to  attack  Wilhelmshaven  and  to  send  in  the 
destroyers  first.  Another  was  for  the  attack  of  Heligo- 
land  but  had  no  practical  suggestion  to  make  how  it  should 

be  accomplished.    A  third  wished  to  attack  Kiel  and  was 

for  Bending  the  li^'hi  erui.-erK  and  destroyers  in  first  through 

von.  ii.  ■ 


44  THE  HARWICH  NAVAL  FORCES 

the  Belts.  Tyrwhitt  was  then  consulted  about  the  latter 
project,  and  said  that  he  would  certainly  carry  out  any 
operation  ordered,  but  in  this  case  would  not  expect  to 
bring  any  of  his  ships  back.  I  told  T.  that  all  our  officers 
who  had  been  with  the  Navy  on  manoeuvres  before  the 
war  were  of  opinion  that  the  officers  and  men  were  fine, 
and  their  seamanship  and  technical  knowledge  remark- 
able, but  that  one  and  all  agreed  that  the  Navy  had  no 
knowledge  of  war,  knew  nothing  of  staff  work,  and  had 
worked  out  no  schemes  of  operations  or  even  the  tactical 
evolutions  needed  in  battle.  They  had  also  published 
nothing  worth  reading  on  the  higher  branches  of  the  art 
of  war.  T.  agreed  that  this  was  so,  and  the  position  in 
the  North  Sea  now  was  the  result.  Like  Beatty,  Tyrwhitt 
knew  nothing  of  our  military  arrangements  ashore,  and 
wished  that  he  did.  He  only  reported  to  the  Admiralty, 
and  usually  made  his  plans  after  a  telephone  conversation 
with  the  First  Sea  Lord.  I  said  that  I  hoped  it  was  a 
private  wire  and  he  said  it  was.  We  agreed  that  the 
Admiralty  information  was  excellent.  Winston  had  offered 
to  tell  T.  how  it  came,  but  T.  said  that  he  did  not  want 
to  know.  If  the  weather  serves,  Bacon  is  to  attack  Zee- 
brugge  again  to-morrow  morning,  and  Tyrwhitt  is  taking 
four  of  his  light  cruisers  to  stand  by  if  help  is  needed. 
One  of  his  officers  told  me  that  T.  never  leaves  the  bridge 
while  at  sea,  and  spoke  with  enthusiasm  of  him,  adding 
that  he  was  a  bit  of  a  tartar.  The  demeanour  of  all  who 
came  to  him  to  report  showed  me  that  they  knew  who 
was  the  master  of  the  Harwich  Forces.  I  could  not  have 
been  more  courteously  received.  Domvile  was  there, 
and  we  had  some  chaff  about  the  old  Invasion  inquiries 
before  the  Imperial  Defence  Committee. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

The  attempt  of  General  Korniloff  to  seize  power  in  Russia — The 
Luxburg  case — The  Russian  railways — The  internal  state  of  Russia — A 
visit  to  Wilton  and  Cranborne — The  hospital  at  Wilton — Charm  of 
Cranborne — Our  troops  in  Flanders  half  drowned — Mr.  Montagu  and 
Sir  Herbert  Cox  on  Indian  affairs — Raising  of  fresh  Indian  forces — 
A  row  at  a  Cabinet  meeting  between  Lord  Kitchener  and  Mr.  Lloyd 
George — A  talk  with  Mr.  Balfour,  General  Smuts,  and  Sir  W.  Robert- 
son— General  Maurice  on  the  situation — The  question  of  the  transfer 
qf  German  forces  West  in  the  spring — Probable  rate  of  arrival — 
Eastern  campaigns — Need  of  a  War  Chair  at  some  University  to 
teach  budding  statesmen — Colonel  Fagalde's  ideas — The  aeroplanes 
at  Gibraltar— Visit  to  Wilton— Talks  with  Sir  W.  Robertson. 

Thursday,  Sept.  6  to  Sunday,  Sept.  9.  Not  many  people 
in  town.  Went  to  Kenwood  on  Thursday  and  found  the 
Grand  Duchess  and  all  her  party  and  various  other  people. 
Saw  a  good  Laszlo  portrait.  A  long  sitting  of  the  Tribunal, 
Friday.  We  are  getting  down  to  the  crocks  now.  The  Town 
Clerk,  Mr.  Johnstone,  has  had  amusing  correspondence  with 
various  food  controllers  and  directors,  displaying  the 
amazing  chaos  in  these  departments.  Also  heard  that 
Lord  Rhondda  has  suddenly  discovered  that  he  can't  dis- 
tribute the  food  he  has  bought  abroad  and  has  asked  the 
Army  Council  to  a  meeting  to  '  co-ordinate  '  mechanical 
'  ran- port,  which  means  to  annex  it,  as  the  Army  has  nearly 
all  of  it.  It  would  be  less  trouble  if  Rhondda  went  home 
and  k'ft  the  Army  authorities  to  feed  and  ration  the  people. 
Farmers  up  in  arms  against  the  prices  fixed.  A  glorious 
general  muddle  from  amateurs  trying  to  interfere  with 
the  delicate  balance  of  supply  and  demand. 

Winston   has    made   good   al    once   the    Kalian   Munition 
I-. --<  -  flue  to  the  explosions  at  Udine  and  Rome  :    a  good 

46 


46  EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

mark  to  him.  Colonel  Mola  and  Count  Pallavicino  came 
up  late  Saturday  night  to  ask  me  how  to  get  some  tanks 
which  General  Dall'  Olio  requires  for  the  Carso.  I  investi- 
gated and  referred  Mola  to  Colonel  Buckley,  M.I.  2.  Lunched 
with  Mrs.  Denistoun,  Saturday  :  Lady  Loughborough, 
Sir  John  Cowans,  and  Miss  Mozley  also  there  ;  the  ladies 
good-looking,  the  latter  half  Spanish. 

The  military  news  of  the  week  is  that  L.  G.'s  plan  of 
sending  an  army  to  Italy  is  once  more  temporarily  aban- 
doned. This  was  the  main  question  before  the  Conference, 
and  Haig  has  had  to  come  over  again  to  help  about  it. 
There  has  also  been  defeated  a  plan  of  taking  part  of  our 
Army  away  to  the  French  front.  All  these  things  entail 
a  vast  amount  of  unnecessary  work,  but  I  do  not  think 
it  bad  that  the  railway  projects  of  a  move  to  Italy  should 
be  ready,  as  they  now  are.  We  remain  much  down  in 
numbers  in  France,  64,000  in  the  aggregate,  but  in  the 
divisions  it  is  104,000,  or  was  a  few  days  ago,  and  we  may 
have  10,000  casualties  a  week.  Drafts  are  going  out  at 
the  rate  of  4000  a  day,  and  it  is  hoped  that  Geddes  will 
get  the  men  right  if  the  Government  do  not  impede  him. 
Haig  is  still  bent  on  getting  the  Passchendaele  Ridge,  but 
not  just  yet.  Glass  rising,  but  still  rain  and  drizzle  con- 
stantly. Sir  Adam  Block  guarantees  X.  just  back  from 
Constantinople,  who  vows  that  60,000  Huns  are  nearing 
Aleppo,  and  that  she  saw  them  in  the  train  on  her  way 
to  Belgrade.  Some  believe  her,  but  the  G.S.  do  not.  I 
saw  Margey's  new  house  on  Sunday.  Very  nice  as  usual. 
Freddy  looks  well.  An  air-raid  warning,  but  it  came  to 
nothing.  I  was  asked  to  Knebworth  by  Lady  Strafford 
but  could  not  go. 

Monday,  Sept.  10.  Heard  that  all  my  references  to  mines 
have  been  cut  out  by  the  Censor  from  my  article  on  the 
Light  Forces  of  the  Navy.  I  did  not  think  that  they  would 
pass  such  a  show-up  of  Admiralty  bungling.  Lunched 
with  General  Dessino  and  Colonel  Baron  Gravensky  of  the 
Russian  mission.  Gravensky  had  the  evening  paper,  with 
the  first  news  of  the  rumpus  between  Korniloff  the  Russian 


1917]  KORNILOFF'S  ATTEMPT  47 

C.-in-C.  and  Kerensky  the  head  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment. It  is  evidently  civil  war.  Nabokoff  and  Wolkoff 
joined  us.  Neither  had  heard  the  news  and  read  it  with 
stupor,  though  it  is  pretty  well  what  Nabokoff  had  pre- 
dicted. Most  of  the  party  thought  that  Korniloff  would 
win.  Kaledin  and  the  Cossacks  with  their  250,000  men 
will  back  Korniloff.  Dessino  says  that  Klembovsky, 
whom  Kerensky  has  made  C.-in-C,  is  a  clever  fellow 
but  of  no  character.  Korniloff  is  evidently  marching  on 
Petrograd.  It  is  very  Napoleonic  and  quite  justified.  The 
Moscow  Conference  pointed  to  it.  Kerensky  has  not  been 
able  to  remove  his  roots  from  the  wretched  Soviet,  which 
has  been  the  curse  of  the  Revolution.  Gravensky  says 
that  the  Russians  on  the  Dvina  were  twice  as  strong  as 
the  Germans,  and  yet  gave  way.  It  is  thought  that  the 
real  German  effort  will  be  in  Moldavia,  and  the  Rumanians 
are  reported  to  be  shaky. 

We  talked  of  the  Swedish  affair.  The  German  Charge 
d'Affaires  in  the  Argentine,  Count  Luxburg,  had  been 
sending  cipher  messages  to  Europe  through  the  Swedish 
Minister  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  among  other  things 
advised  that  the  Argentine  ships  should  be  spurlos  ver- 
senkt.  The  Swedish  Foreign  Ministry  seems  compromised. 
Luxburg  used  to  be  Consul  General  in  India,  where 
Nabokoff  knew  him  well.  N.  says  that  the  Germans 
sent  their  best  men,  Councillors  of  Embassy,  etc.,  to 
India  to  foster  intrigues.  Luxburg  is  a  small  bald- 
headed  man  resembling  Lamsdorff.  Nabokoff  wonders 
whether  400,000  Swedes  will  now  occupy  Finland.  All 
very  serious,  but  we  imagine  that  Sweden  will  give  us 
satisfaction,  (finished  the  South  African  chapters  of  my 
memoir  and  forgot  all  about  the  time  and  my  dinner  witli 

Colonel  Mbla.    Telephoned,  and  weni  after  dinner  to  Queen 

Anne's  .Man-ion-.     .Madame  Mola  is  American.     A  pleasant 

daughter  of  sventeen.    QeneraJ  Phillips  there,  our  Military 

Attache*  at  Athens.  He  says  that  the  Greek  Army  it)  no 
good,  and  that   1  can  wipe  it  oil-.      He  disbelieves  the  00,000 

Qennan     tory.    Hedislikeo  San-ad,  srho  had  done  no  ^<H>d 


48  EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

in  command,  but  P.  wants  to  continue  the  occupation 
even  though  he  admits  that  an  offensive  is  impracticable. 
He  is  an  Easterner  who  really  knows  that  the  West  is  the 
main  thing.  Ansaldo  there,  and  a  few  others  including 
the  Duke  of  Something  and  a  handsome  wife,  a  Colonna 
and  attractive. 

Tuesday,  Sept.  11.  Lunched  with  E.  and  Doris  Keane 
and  heard  all  the  news  of  their  holiday  on  the  Cornish 
coast.  They  are  both  looking  very  well,  Lydia  Kyasht 
could  not  turn  up  as  she  has  to  give  lunch  to  her 
Coliseum  manager  and  people. 

Thursday,  Sept.  13.  Dined  with  E.,  who  later  tele- 
phoned to  the  Savoy  for  Mr.  John  Kennalley,  secretary  to 
Colonel  Boyle,  alias  '  Klondyke.'  Kennalley  left  Boyle  at 
General  Korniloff 's  headquarters  only  about  a  fortnight  ago 
and  told  us  all  about  the  situation  there.  He  is  convinced 
that  Korniloff  will  be  master  of  the  position.  Their  special 
job  has  been  railways.  Kennalley  says  that  the  permanent 
way  is  all  right,  and  rolling  stock  not  too  bad,  but  better 
repair  shops  are  badly  needed,  and  he  has  come  back  to 
help  to  get  the  tools  and  plant.  But  the  real  trouble  is 
defective  organisation.  One  authority  controls  normal- 
gauge  lines  and  another  the  light  lines,  while  the  Army 
zone  and  rearward  zone  are  not  well  defined,  and  all  the 
trouble  comes  where  the  different  authorities  clash. 
Korniloff  is  accepting  all  Boyle's  plans,  and  has  sent  him  off 
to  the  Rumanian  front  to  continue  his  work.  Kennalley 
does  not  find  that  bribing  is  needed. 

Friday,  Sept.  14.  Saw  Seymour  Fortescue.  He  told  me 
that  he  had  sent  on  my  North  Sea  article  to  the  Admiralty, 
which  had  cut  out  all  my  criticism  of  the  mine  strategy. 
He  says  they  believe  that  Beatty  and  I  concocted  the 
criticism  between  us.  Lunched  with  Lockett  and  Colin 
Agnew,  and  we  had  a  talk  about  our  respective  doings  since 
last  we  met.  Lockett  has  only  made  half  his  usual  bag 
at  Fetteresso  this  year. 

Dined  with  Lydia  Kyasht  at  her  house,  74  Knights  - 
bridge,  her  old  house  in  Avenue  Road  being  let  for  a  term. 


1917]  WILTON  AND  CRANBORNE  49 

Very  pretty,  and  everything  well  done  as  usual.  Lydia 
in  despair  about  Russia.  In  her  husband's  regiment  the 
men  have  just  killed  the  colonel  and  two  other  officers 
because  they  did  not  like  them,  and  all  the  officers  at 
Cronstadt,  ordered  by  the  so-called  Government  to  be 
released  because  innocent,  have  been  clapped  back  in  prison 
again.  Prices  awful,  the  exchange  gone  to  nothing,  and 
hard  to  get  necessaries.  Paper  money  being  turned  out 
regardless  of  consequences.  Petrograd  will  probably  both 
freeze  and  starve  this  winter,  and  any  Government  in  office 
then  will  be  hated.  Lydia  fears  that  Korniloff  has  started 
to  govern  too  soon  and  has  not  enough  troops,  but  we  shall 
see.  The  Ragosin  property  has  been  taken  from  the  owners 
and  distributed  among  peasants,  who  have  cut  down  the 
orchards  which  produced  10,000  roubles  a  year.  A  story 
generally  of  complete  chaos,  and  dreadful  to  hear.  Lydia 
looking  very  pretty  and  has  still  her  child-like  naivete 
and  charm,  but  looks  very  worried,  and  I  don't  wonder. 

Saturday,  Sept.  15.  Started  early  and  arrived  at  Wilton 
in  time  for  luncheon  with  Lady  Pembroke  and  her  children. 
Walked  round  the  grounds  and  saw  the  armour,  and  then 
the  glorious  pictures  again.  Bee  also  took  me  round  her 
hospital  in  Bachelor's  Row,  the  ground  floor  in  the  front  of 
the  house.  She  takes  in  forty  officers,  and  the  hospital  is 
very  well  done,  and  the  wounded  officers  are  very  happy. 
We  had  a  good  talk  about  various  public  and  private 
matters,  and  she  showed  me  M.  de  Cosson's  opinion  on  the 
armour,  refuting  the  criticism  made  of  it  just  before  the 
late  sale.  But  this  criticism  cannot  have  had  much  effect 
as  one  of  the  suits  brought  an  offer  of  £14,500.  Motored 
over  in  the  late  afternoon  to  Cranborne,  the  Salisburys'  place 
about  sixteen  miles  from  Wilton,  now  lent  to  the  Lyttons. 
A  delightful  old  place,  mainly  Tudor,  but  the  centre  part 
and  banqoeting-haU  dating  from  King  John.  The  portico 
bad.  and  front  and  the  gate-house  arc  very  interesting. 
An  ideal  little  old-world  place,  with  great  dignity  andoharm. 
Sunday  8ept.  16.  Long  walks  morning  and  afternoon, 
and  u  good  talk  with  my  host  and  hostess,    \W  talked 


50  EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

about  the  Ministry,  the  Admiralty,  Russia,  disarmament 
and  obligatory  arbitration,  education,  and  public  affairs  of 
all  sorts.  An  interesting  day,  and  I  liked  both  the  Lyttons 
very  much.  Four  very  jolly  children  and  young  Lord 
Knebworth  very  promising. 

Monday,  Sept.  17.  Returned  to  London  via  Daggons 
Road  and  Salisbury.  Train  crammed  as  usual  and  most 
uncomfortable.  I  had  a  slight  touch  of  fever,  so  did  not 
much  appreciate  a  noisy  baby  in  my  carriage.  I  saw 
Sir  W.  Robertson  in  the  evening.  He  tells  me  that  Plumer 
has  succeeded  Gough  in  command  of  the  Ypres  front, 
and  that  in  a  short  time,  Haig,  Petain,  and  Cadorna  will 
all  attack.  R.  must  feel  that  my  view  that  Flanders  is 
unsuitable  ground  for  a  great  offensive  has  been  justified. 
The  troops  have  in  certain  parts  been  literally  flooded 
out,  but  none  of  them  would  listen  to  me  about  this  point, 
perhaps  because  I  had  been  Military  Attache  in  the  Low 
Countries  and  happened  to  know  this  district.  People  who 
know  are  not  much  accounted  in  this  war,  as  Curzon  once 
said  to  me.  R.  cross  with  a  Times  leader  of  the  15th 
criticising  failure  to  publish  despatches,  and  says  that  no 
other  country  publishes  despatches,  and  that  ours  have  to 
be  in  two  sets,  one  for  publication  and  one  not.  It  was 
also  impossible  to  publish  Murray's  last  despatch  until 
Allenby  had  struck  his  blow.  R.  is  inclined  to  think  that 
all  despatches  should  remain  secret  until  after  the  war, 
and  I  agree. 

The  news  from  Russia  is  that  the  Korniloff  coup  d'etat 
has  failed.     Lydia  was  right  about  it. 

Thursday,  Sept.  20.  Lunched  with  the  Edwin  Montagus. 
General  Sir  Herbert  Cox,  Military  Secretary  at  the  India 
Office,  also  there.  We  talked  India  first.  Montagu  full 
of  his  coming  journey  to  India.  He  starts  next  month,  and 
will  be  away  six  months.  Army  matters  occupied  us  first. 
M.  wishes  to  present  some  new  organisation  to  satisfy 
people.  I  told  him  that  nothing  new  was  needed,  only 
the  proper  carrying  out  of  the  existing  scheme  which  was 
that  of  the  Esher  Committee  and  our  War  Office  trans- 


1917]  THE  ARMY  IN  INDIA  51 

ferred  to  India.  Cox  objected  that  the  C.-in-C.  could  not 
get  away  enough.  I  thought  that  he  could,  and  that 
Monro  had,  but  1  saw  no  objection  to  the  C.-in-C.  deputing 
a  man  to  represent  him  as  Robertson  was  represented  by 
Whigham  on  the  Army  Council.  If  M.  could  show  and 
explain  the  working  of  the  system  every  one  would  be 
satisfied.  It  was  from  the  ignorance  of  people  and  from 
the  dust  of  the  old  Curzon-K.  controversy  that  confusion 
of  ideas  had  come.  As  to  the  part  that  our  G.S.  here 
might  take,  I  was  for  limiting  it  to  the  control  of  operations 
outside  India.  Cox  said  that  the  G.S.  claimed  much 
more.  1  said  that  I  knew  this,  but  that  I  did  not  support 
the  claim  and  did  not  think  the  public  would,  and  had  so  told 
Robertson.  But  I  said  that  the  amount  of  force  which 
India  could  place  in  the  field  was  of  deep  interest  to  the 
G.S.,  and  that  steps  must  be  taken  to  learn  the  views  of 
the  G.S.  upon  all  large  questions  of  reorganisation,  and 
that  the  commands  in  India  must  not  be  allowed  to  fall 
again  into  the  hands  of  men  passed  over  for  promotion. 
We  were  agreed  about  King's  Commissions  for  Indians 
as  a  political  necessity,  and  all  three  of  us  were  for  the 
training  of  cadets  in  India.  But  I  told  M.  that  I  did  not 
really  see  the  white  officer  obeying  an  Indian,  and  that 
I  should  recommend  regiments  wholly  officered  eventually 
by  Indians,  as  in  Egypt  some  are  by  Egyptians.  I  was 
told  that  the  Indian  Government  objected  to  have  any 
second-grade  troops.  I  thought  this  absurd,  as  there 
had  always  been  such  troops  and  always  would  be.  But 
in  any  case  there  was  no  need  to  lay  down  hard  and  fast 
rules.  It  would  be  long  before  the  cadets  would  come 
on  for  senior  duties,  and  in  the  interval  experiments  could 
be  made  and  time  gained.  I  think  that  the  deep  and  in- 
scrut.il.il  .M.  agreed  with  most  of  this,  lie  then  Bpoke  of 
thi  larger  projects  of  Indian  Government  development, 
and  seemed  inclined  i<»  go  in  for  Federal  arrangements 
and  devolution  of  oentral  responsibility.  He  thought 
that  Simla  might  give  up  some  powers  if  the  India  Office 
did   also.     \:    present    the   latter   rather  oriticised    than 


52  EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

created.  M.'s  difficulty  was  to  find  means  to  attract  men 
to  India  if  they  were  liable  to  be  upset  in  their  work  by  the 
votes  of  popularly  elected  bodies,  which  could  not  themselves 
find  men  to  do  the  work.  When  he  mentioned  some  of 
the  immense  difficulties  in  his  way  I  remarked  that  he  would 
feel  much  more  gay  if  he  kept  firmly  in  his  mind  that  the 
eternal  rule  of  300,000,000  Indians  by  200,000  whites  was  a 
wholly  impracticable  proposition.  It  was  no  use,  I  thought, 
to  attempt  perfection  in  attaining  the  impossible,  and 
there  was  no  counsel  of  perfection  for  him  except  to  do  his 
best.  Even  Balfour,  I  told  him,  had  once  admitted  as  much 
to  me,  and  had  seen  no  way  to  solve  the  problem. 

We  talked  of  Dilke's  Autobiography,  out  to-day,  and  M. 
and  I  agreed  that  D.  would  never  have  been  Prime  Minister, 
as  some  of  this  morning's  papers  suggest.  M.  truly  said 
that  Dilke's  speeches  were  more  crammed  with  facts  from 
the  past  than  with  practical  guidance  for  the  present  and 
the  future.  M.  and  Cox  said  that  the  Amir  was  behaving 
admirably. 

A  long  tribunal  in  the  afternoon.  Another  of  our  clerks 
found  trying  to  borrow  money  from  men  liable  to  service. 
Why  do  they  not  pay  these  men  better  and  keep  them  out 
of  temptation  ? 

Heard  an  amusing  account  of  a  great  row  between  L.  G. 
and  K.  at  a  Cabinet  early  in  the  war.  Winston  or  L.  G.  had 
demanded  the  facts  about  the  Expeditionary  Force.  K.  had 
refused  them,  but  Asquith  had  decided  that  they  ought  to  be 
given.  So  K.  gave  them,  but  only  read  them  out,  and  his 
colleagues  took  notes,  K.  demanding  secrecy  about  them. 
Soon  after  Von  Donop  gave  the  Munitions  Committee — on 
which  sat  L.  G.  with  Balfour  and  others  not  in  the  Cabinet- 
details  of  numbers,  guns,  shells,  etc.,  when  L.  G.  whispered 
that  the  figures  were  different  and  they  did  not  agree  with 
those  given  by  K.  He  said  so  also  to  Von  Donop,  who  was 
very  surprised  and  said  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  figures 
which  Lord  K.  had  given,  and  must  refer  to  K.  on  the 
matter.  At  the  next  Cabinet  Lord  K.  opened  a  furious 
attack  on  L.  G.  and  others,  accusing  them  of  violating  the 


1917]  AN  OLD  CABINET  ROW  53 

Becrecy  of  Cabinet  debates,  upon  which  L.  G.  turned  on 
him  white  with  rage  and  tore  the  figures  to  pieces.  K. 
gathered  up  his  papers,  said  that  he  saw  no  reason  to  go  on 
if  he  did  not  possess  the  confidence  of  his  colleagues,  and 
walked  towards  the  door,  whereupon  various  Cabinet 
Ministers  dragged  him  back  by  the  coat  tails  and  made  him 
sit  down  again.  Asquith  and  then  Grey  spoke  calming 
words  and  the  thing  blew  over,  but  K.  told  his  colleagues 
that  no  one  in  the  War  Office  knew  the  real  figures  or  what 
he  was  doing  as  he  kept  everything  in  his  own  hands. 

Friday,  Sept.  21.  Went  to  the  Foreign  Office  in  the 
morning  to  take  Hardinge  my  diary  of  my  last  visit  to  France 
as  promised.  Had  a  talk  with  Hardinge.  He  is  not  cpiite 
sure  what  there  is  in  the  minds  of  soldiers  in  this  renewed 
offensive  of  ours  in  the  Ypres  district  which  recommenced 
yesterday  morning  at  5.40  a.m.  To  what  object  is  this 
operation  1  I  could  not  enlighten  him  greatly,  except  that 
Haig  was  out  for  the  Passchendaele  Ridge  and  to  dominate 
the  Belgian  plain.  H.  considers  the  Russian  position  as 
bad  as  the  rest  of  us,  and  only  hopes  that  there  will  continue 
to  be  a  mess  of  Russian  troops  on  the  borders  to  tie  up 
a  good  many  German  divisions.  He  thought  that  some 
I'UJOO  Germans  were  on  their  way  to  fight  Maude,  and  that 
they  were  taking  motors  for  transport. 

Lunched  at  Mr.  Balfour's  house  with  him,  General  Smuts, 
and  Sir  William  Robertson.  We  lunched  at  a  tiny  table 
with  just  room  for  the  four  of  us,  as  our  host  said  that  he  w  as 
becoming  rather  deaf.  We  discussed  Germany's  position, 
and  writ-  agreed  that  Germany  was  all  for  peace.  We 
imagined  thai  Bhe  had  some  difficulties  which  we  did  not 
fully  know,  bul  we  thought  that  want  of  men,  raw  material, 

and  especially  wool,  transport,  food,  ami  so  on  were  « init «■ 
enough    1"    a'-eount   for   her   chastened    mood.     Smutfi   de 
reloped  his  reoenl  Bpeeoh  in  which  he  had  said  that   we 
had  won  the  war.    This  opinion  he  had  given  because  the 

Jownal  man  u  ho  .had  come  to  him  had  In  en  very  despond- 
ent and  had  aid  that  WC  had  lost  the  War.  Smuts  thinks 
we  have  uon,  and  .-aid  that    the   BOOTS  had   lost    the  war  in 


54  EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

South  Africa  at  the  end  of  six  months,  but  still  managed  to 
hold  out  for  two  years  longer.  But  Smuts  said  that  though 
we  had  won  the  war  we  might  lose  the  peace,  and  was 
evidently  anxious  about  negotiations  in  which  he  thought 
the  Germans  would  try  to  create  bad  blood  between  the 
Allies,  I  said  that  I  thought  we  had  every  advantage  in 
knowing  the  German  idea  of  terms.  B.  did  not  know 
whether  the  German  reply  to  the  Pope  had  yet  arrived. 
We  all  agreed  that  we  could  not  have  an  armistice  because 
we  could  not  afford  to  suspend  the  blockade.  All  happy 
about  the  second  day  of  Haig's  new  offensive.  R.  says  that 
Plumer  is  a  good  man  and  that  Tim  Harington  and  the 
2nd  Army  Staff  have  done  splendidly.  Gough  was  promised 
the  command  in  the  Yser  fight  before  Messines  had  proved 
the  efficiency  of  the  2nd  Army  Command  and  Staff,  and  the 
latter  having  again  shown  their  competence  would  be  given 
a  wider  control  in  future.  We  discussed  Plumer,  and  I 
told  old  Eton  stories  of  him.  R.  said  that  people  at  first 
did  not  believe  in  him  because  he  had  no  chin.  I  agreed 
that  he  did  not  look  like  a  Chief,  but  that  he  was  a  steady 
character  and  his  troops  ahvays  liked  him.  What  makes 
troops  trust  their  Chief  ?  asked  B.  '  Success,'  answered 
Smuts,  and  from  that  we  came  to  talk  of  Buller,  when 
Smuts  and  I  found  we  had  been  fighting  each  other  in  Natal, 
and  I  was  very  complimentary  about  the  admirable  defence 
he  and  his  Boers  put  up  against  us.  He  thought  that  his 
people  had  done  extremely  well  for  a  citizen  army,  and  in 
commenting  on  my  praise  of  Botha  he  said  that  Botha  had 
a  wonderful  eye  for  ground  and  would  take  in  a  whole 
situation  at  a  glance.  Smuts  did  not  admire  Buller's 
leading,  and  said  that  if  we  had  gone  on  at  Vaalkrantz  the 
road  to  Ladysmith  was  open  to  us,  as  I  thought  at  the  time. 
We  spoke  of  Wellington,  and  Balfour  agreed  with  me  in  my 
admiration  for  him  and  in  my  regret  that  no  great  life  of 
him  had  ever  appeared. 

Saw  Maurice.  He  says  that  Plumer  will  go  on  again  in 
five  or  six  days  if  the  weather  serves.  Haig  was  only  anxious 
about  the  second  day  of  the  fight,  as  the  Huns  had  accumu- 


1917]  PLUMER'S  PROGRESS  55 

lated  great  reserves  for  counter-attacks.  All  had  been 
beaten  back,  and  we  now  seemed  secure.  All  Haig's  interest 
was  in  the  attack  on  the  Menin  Road. 

Saturday  and  Sunday,  Sept.  22  and  2:>.  Went  down  to 
Coombe  to  cheer  up  the  General  and  Lady  Paget,  who  are 
still  in  great  grief  about  Bertie's  death.  Lady  (Ralph)  Paget 
there  looking  very  worn  and  white.  The  twins  came,  both 
again  wounded  at  the  same  time,  Reggie  through  the  knee 
and  Arthur  in  the  foot  by  a  bomb.  The  Lionel  Guests 
also  there,  and  Mrs.  Page  looked  in  on  Sunday.  Sir  Arthur 
says  that  the  last  good  division  left  in  England,  Cis  Bing- 
ham's 67th,  is  being  broken  up.  Sir  Arthur  knew  nothing 
of  the  North  Sea  minefield,  and  is  not  in  touch  with  the 
Navy  in  any  way.     Returned  home  late  on  Sunday. 

Monday,  Sept.  24.  A  strong  night  air-raid  on  London 
and  the  devil  of  a  lot  of  firing,  but  not  much  harm  done. 

Tuesday,  Sept.  25.  Maurice  dined  with  me  at  Claridge's. 
As  I  crossed  Grosvenor  Square  at  about  8  p.m.  there  was 
much  firing  and  sounds  of  explosions.  There  was  a  fresh 
raid  in  progress.  People  clearing  rapidly  for  cover.  The 
Ladies  Cunard,  Annesley,  and  Randolph  Churchill  meet 
at  Claridge's  quite  calm,  and  go  on  to  the  Opera  in  spite 
of  the  raid.  Charles  had  a  nice  dinner  for  us.  I  told 
Maurice  the  whole  story  of  the  North  Sea  minefield  of 
which  he  had  never  heard  !  What  a  country !  The 
Director  of  Operations  is  not  informed  of  the  principal 
factor  in  the  North  Sea!  He  was  deeply  interested  in 
the  Story,  and  I  begged  him  to  try  and  move  about  the 
liaison  with  the  Navy.  Maurice  says  that  Plumcr  and 
Ida  Staff  are  now  responsible  for  the  main  attack  on  the 
.M'liin  Road,  and  that  Gough  is  on  his  left  now,  with  Rawlin- 
son  to  come  in  presently.  All  goes  well.  ML  hopes  that 
the  PasHchendaele  Ridge  may  be  taken  by  Oct.  10,  and 
that  before  the  close  of  1  he  campaigning  season  in  November 

'.'.'•  may  have  the  n<\\1  ridge  <>n  the  way  to  Koulers.  when 
one  loriLr  range  nasal  guns  which  are  in  readiness  will  be 
able  to  Lombard  Ostend  and  /i-elinigge.  and  render  them 
and  the   Brogef  ''mil   OgeleCM   tot  naval   purposes.      1    hope 


56  EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

that  this  may  pan  out,  but  it  all  seems  a  trifle  petty  in 
itself,  and  one  can  only  approve  because  it  entails  killing 
Germans  all  the  time. 

M.  says  that  the  Germans  have  238  divisions  altogether, 
91  on  the  Russian  front,  and  the  balance  in  the  West, 
namely,  147.  In  the  recent  German  counter-attacks  the 
enemy  used  up  six  divisions,  which  were  completely  shattered 
by  our  guns  and  always  will  be  if  visibility  is  good,  as  we 
now  have  the  best  of  the  ground.  Haig  will  go  on  in  a 
day  or  two,  and  Petain  is  also  to  attack,  probably  to-morrow. 
I  said  that  I  supposed  that  the  War  Cabinet  were  pre- 
pared for  the  transfer  of  a  large  number  of  German  divi- 
sions from  East  to  West  by  the  spring.  M.  said  that  they 
were  expecting  the  whole  pack  to  come,  but  that  he,  M., 
did  not  expect  more  than  thirty  divisions  to  come  across  if 
the  Russians  held  any  sort  of  a  line,  as  the  Germans  could 
not  hold  their  Eastern  front  with  less  than  sixty  divisions.  I 
told  M.  the  last  calculation  that  the  French  G.Q.G.  had  given 
me,  namely,  four  to  five  divisions  in  a  month.  M.  thought 
that  this  was  too  low,  and  that  at  least  seven  could  be  trans- 
ferred per  month.  Foch's  staff  had  worked  it  out,  giving 
Germany  the  benefit  of  all  doubts,  and  had  made  it  fifteen 
a  month,  but  M.  thought  this  too  high.  In  any  case  the 
War  Cabinet  were  much  exercised  on  the  subject.  But 
the  Americans  were  from  now  on  coming  over  at  the  rate 
of  2\  divisions  a  month,  and  the  second  of  General  Persh- 
ing's divisions  was  now  landing.  This  should  give  twelve 
divisions  by  March.  Pershing  is  having  trouble  with 
the  French.  They  promised  him  12,000  horses,  and  have 
only  given  him  1200.  M.  thinks  the  American  staff  good 
and  Pershing  excellent,  but  the  staff  is  a  bit  old  except 
as  a  G.H.Q. 

M.  thinks  that  Foch  and  Petain  get  on  well  together, 
but  that  Foch  and  the  politicians  get  on  less  well.  He  has 
Weygand  with  him  still,  but  is  practically  only  in  charge 
of  Salonika,  and  Painleve  sends  orders  there  without  con- 
sulting him.  M.  advises  me  to  see  Joffre  in  Paris.  All 
the  relations  of  the  Commanders  are  now  good,  and  M. 


1917]  ALLKNBY  AND  MAUDE  57 

likes  Petain  very  much.  The  only  thing  M.  grumbles 
about  is  the  fact  that  Petain  is  more  like  us  and  not  like 
a  Frenchman.  I  said  naturally,  because  he  is  from  the 
Pas  de  Calais,  and  as  near  an  EkiglishmaD  as  makes  no 
matter.  M.  says  that  ho  docs  not  take  soldiers  by  the  ear 
and  call  them  (mon  enfant  '  as  Joffre  did,  and  that  Frenoh- 
men  like  these  Napoleonic  habits. 

M.  says  that  Allenby  is  getting  on  well  and  is  always  in 
the  saddle  and  well  at  the  front,  dropping  in  upon  Com- 
manders and  troops,  and  having  everything  well  in  hand. 
The  moral  of  his  Army  was  much  improved.  Allenby 
prefers  to  wait  for  two  or  three  weeks  until  all  his  resources 
are  assembled,  and  the  G.S.  will  not  press  him  to  attack 
before  his  hour.  As  for  Maude,  there  are  two  German 
divisions  prepared  to  go  east  rapidly  when  the  time 
comes,  and  M.  is  keeping  his  eye  on  them.  The  German 
plan  is  to  prepare  the  L.  of  C.  and  make  a  rapid  journey 
with  the  troops  so  as  to  cause  a  surprise,  but  if  the  Hun 
sends  two  divisions  to  Mesopotamia  we  can  send  two  from 
France,  and  can  get  them  to  Maude  before  the  Germans  can 
get  to  Bagdad,  since  they  have  250  miles  to  make  beyond 
their  railways.  M.  fancies  that  the  problem  of  carrying 
the  twelve  to  fourteen  Turkish  divisions  necessary  to  defeat 
Maude  will  tax  the  enemy's  skill,  and  that  motor  transport 
cannot  do  much  for  such  numbers.  Maude  is  now  getting  a 
sixth  division  and  should  have  a  seventh  by  January.  He 
will  be  able  to  feed  and  carry  three  more  in  case  of  need. 

We  talked  of  the  politicians,  and  M.  said  that  X.  was 
pressing  all  sorts  of  schemes  on  L.  G.,  mainly  the  Alexan- 
dretta  scheme,  which  M.  has  all  ready  in  a  drawer.  The 
P.M.  asked  how  long  it  took  to  get  from  Alexandria  to 
Alexandretta,  and  was  told  forty-eight  hours.  Then  he 
said,  troops  can  be  crammed  into  the  ships  as  for  a  short 
journey.  But  it  was  pointed  thai  it  Alexandria  were  to  be 
the  starting  point,  as  the  Admiralty  wished,  it  would  take 
three  weeks  to  embark  the  mrc--;in  force,  and  two  weeks 
to  disembark  them,  so  that  the  men  would  be  three  to 
live    weeks    on    hoard,   and    so    oould    not     be    paeked    like 


58  EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

herrings  in  a  barrel.  M.  thought  that  we  ought  to  have 
a  Chair  at  some  University  to  teach  budding  statesmen 
the  rudiments  of  war,  and  that  it  would  be  a  very  interest- 
ing one.  'A  sort  of  Senior  Officers'  Staff  College  Course,' 
I  said.  '  Yes,'  said  M.,  '  to  make  them  understand  all  the 
things  that  the  War  Cabinet  has  not  been  able  to  grasp 
throughout  the  war  and  cannot  grasp  now.'  I  told  M. 
that  I  had  said  to  the  Frenchmen  that  after  the  war  it 
would  be  found  that  50  per  cent,  of  the  time  and  energy 
of  soldiers  had  been  expended  in  fighting  their  own 
politicians.  M.  thought  that  my  percentage  was  much  too 
low.  The  War  Cabinet  had  still  taken  no  decision  re- 
specting men.  We  had  swept  in  everybody  in  the  Army 
for  the  fighting  line,  including  even  experts,  motor-drivers, 
and  so  on,  but  unless  something  were  done  we  should  be 
compelled  to  reduce  strengths.  We  had  64  divisions  in 
France.  They  were  the  equivalent  of  about  80  German, 
and  10  of  our  divisions  were  from  the  Dominions.  The 
Cabinet  wanted  to  reduce  the  strength  of  our  divisions  in 
order  to  evade  their  duty  of  calling  up  more  men. 

In  the  late  evening  met  X.,  who  told  me  the  story  of  the 
Laszlo  case. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  26.  Wrote  a  short  article  on  the  Russian 
campaign  of  1917,  ending  with  a  homily  about  discipline. 
Colonel  Fagalde,  liaison  officer  from  General  Foch,  lunched 
with  me  at  the  Carlton.  He  said  that  the  relations  between 
Painleve,  Foch,  and  Petain  were  perfect,  and  that  there 
had  not  been  one  cloud.  We  spoke  of  my  next  visit. 
Pershing  is  at  Neuf chateau.  F.  agreed  with  Maurice's 
views  of  the  American  arrivals.  It  had  required  great 
tact  to  give  them  French  instructors.  The  French  had 
made  the  American  camp  alongside  a  Chasseur  division, 
and  the  Americans  had  naturally  gone  to  look  on.  This 
had  led  to  courtesies,  and  finally  to  the  Americans  themselves 
asking  for  French  help.  There  were  now  schools  for  all 
arms  and  for  officers,  and  when  enough  American  instructors 
were  formed  these  would  take  over  the  schools.  The  men 
were  tall  and  spare.     No  American  troopship  had  yet  been 


1917 j       GERMAN  RAILWAY  TRANSPORT  59 

sunk.  Pershing  was  in  no  hurry  to  take  over  a  part  of  the 
line  until  he  could  have  a  fairly  big  bit,  suited  to  a  more 
or  less  independent  Commander.  America  was  devoting 
400,000  tons  of  shipping  to  the  transport  of  her  armies. 
There  was  no  difficulty  about  finding  the  75  mm.  guns  for 
the  Americans,  a-  there  was  an  output  of  over  900  guns  per 
month  in  France  and  an  expenditure  of  600  only.  But 
heavy  guns  were  more  difficult  because  France  had  not 
enough  herself. 

F.  thought  that  Germany  might  send  fifteen  divisions  a 
month  over  the  five  railways  from  East  to  West,  but  ho 
did  not  expect  such  a  good  result.  It  was  possible,  if  Russia 
gave  way,  that  sixty  divisions  might  come,  but  not  probable, 
and  they  would  mainly  be  infantry  with  weakish  artillery. 
F.  doubted  that  the  Huns  had  any  plans,  and  thought 
that  they  were  merely  acting  defensively  on  both  fronts 
and  taking  the  offensive  at  sea. 

Haig  had  made  a  fresh  advance  that  morning  and  had 
won  all  his  objectives.  Petain  would  attack  in  a  few  days. 
He  liked  to  make  sure  before  striking.  I  should  find  most 
of  the  old  2nd  Army  Staff  under  Petain  at  G.Q.G.  including 
Cointet  at  the  head  of  the  Intelligence,  Serrigny,  etc. 
Foch  had  Weygand  and  Georges. 

Wr  discussed  Salonika.  According  to  F.  we  are  causing 
much  worry  in  Paris  by  demanding  that  Sarrail  should  be 
changed.  It  will  be  very  disagreeable  if  Sarrail  returns  to 
France,  for  a  place  will  have  to  be  found  for  him.  He  has 
become  the  standard  bearer  of  the  Socialists  who  have 
annexed  him,  and  Painleve  has  a  weakness  for  him  because 
he  resisted  at  Verdun  in  1914  when  JofTre  had  ordered 
lain  to  give  it  up.  It  might  become  necessary  to  put  Sarrail 
in  Foch'fl  place.  It  would  be  a  great  boon  to  the  French 
it  we  could  uivc  up  pressing  for  SarraiTs  withdrawal.  F. 
could  n>a     ee  that   it   mattered,  nor  could   1,  seeing  that 

nothing  could   !><•  done  ;it   Salonika.      B\  thinkfl  that   Sarrail 

ha    oharaotei  <•!  a  loud.    His  I  hiel  of  Stall  is  the  main 
of   the  troubles  with  the  Allie  ,  but   Sarrail  is  //<•■ 

,„,i!  and  all  hi    Staff  wem  to  be  an  uitable, 

\o|..    II.  I 


6o  EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

F.  said  that  America  had  sixteen  great  camps,  at  each  of 
which  two  divisions  were  being  raised. 

I  met  General  Dessino  afterwards,  and  he  wants  me  to 
write  plainly  about  the  want  of  discipline  in  the  Russian 
Army,  as  he  says  that  people  in  Russia  will  attend  to  me  but 
not  to  Russian  papers.  I  asked  him  how  the  Embassy  got 
on  during  the  turmoil  in  Russia.  He  said  that  they  got 
their  pay,  but  often  very  late  and  Baring's  made  them 
advances.  No  one  was  allowed  to  receive  more  than  500 
roubles  (£19)  a  month  from  his  private  income  in  Russia, 
and  this  even  when  people  were  millionaires,  and  he  de- 
scribed the  difficult  position  of  members  of  the  Embassy 
who  were  nominally  rich  and  had  commitments  here. 

Thursday,  Sept.  27.  Lunched  with  Sir  Herbert  Miles, 
the  Governor  of  Gibraltar,  and  had  a  good  talk.  He  re- 
turns next  week.  He  has  four  battalions,  but  if  Spain 
joins  against  us  he  will  want  four  divisions,  or  the 
Spaniards  can  destroy  our  ships,  dockyards,  etc.  Aero- 
planes were  sent  out  without  consulting  him.  There  was 
nowhere  to  land  on  the  Rock  after  a  flight  except  on 
neutral  ground,  so  they  were  sent  home  again  after  two 
had  been  lost  in  attempting  flights.  They  were  sent  out 
as  ordnance  stores  and  without  any  inquiry  as  to  possi- 
bilities. Miles  is  glad  that  a  dozen  American  destroyers 
are  now  arriving  at  Gib.  to  take  on  the  Hun  submarines. 

Saturday  to  Sunday,  Sept.  29-30.  Evelyn  FitzGerald  and 
I  went  down  to  Wilton  together,  and  found  Lady  Pem- 
broke, Sir  William  and  Lady  Robertson,  and  Mrs.  Rupert 
Beckett.  Lord  Curzon  too  ill  to  come,  and  Mr.  Balfour 
too  busy.  A  very  enjoyable  week-end  in  lovely  weather, 
only  spoilt  by  news  of  air-raids  in  London  both  nights, 
but  telephone  messages  from  the  War  Office  assured  me 
that  there  was  no  damage  done  in  N.W.  London.  Some 
capital  lawn  tennis,  and  we  played  all  the  afternoon.  Lady 
R.  went  to  town  Sunday  afternoon  as  she  had  to  launch 
a  ship  on  Monday.  Some  interesting  talks,  in  which  the 
politicians  might  have  heard  some  things  which  would 
have  done  them  good. 


1917]  RAMADIE  61 

Sir  W.  R.  gave  us  the  first  news  of  Maude's  success  at 
Ramadie  on  the  Euphrates,  where  he  has  ringed  up  and 
captured  the  whole  Turkish  garrison  several  thousand 
strong.  R.  very  pleased  about  it,  and  Bays  that  the  War 
Cabinet  to-morrow  will  think  that  they  have  won  the  war. 
Had  some  good  talks  with  R.  He  leaves  me  under  the 
impression  that  Petain's  promised  offensive  is  off,  which 
vexes  us  both  as  we  cannot  win  the  war  by  fighting  alone 
on  a  ten-mile  front  while  all  our  other  Allies  are  not  fighting. 
R.  says  that  the  French  have  not  used  all  their  1917  class, 
and  none  of  then  1918,  while  our  boys  of  nineteen  go  out 
daily.  He  says  that  the  principle  of  the  limited  offensive 
was  (ml}'  accepted  unwillingly.  But  now  eveiy  one 
accepted  the  principles  which  I  suggested  even  as  early  as 
alter  Neuve  Chapelle,  and  Generals  like  Harper  declare 
that  success  can  always  be  won  on  these  principles.  The 
limited  objective  is  alone  suitable  until  our  superiority  is 
much  greater  than  it  is  now. 

R.  says  that  we  have  only  four  bombing  squadrons  in 
France  of  some  eighty  aeroplanes,  and  that  we  cannot  spare 
them  for  raiding  German  towns,  but  that  in  four  to  six 
weeks,  when  active  operations  are  suspended,  we  shall  be 
able  to  spare  them  to  go  to  the  right  of  the  French  line 
and  to  start  from  there  to  bomb  German  towns.  The 
War  Cabinet  are  not  at  all  opposed  to  reprisals.  Plumcr 
keeps  on  getting  more  troops  to  his  left,  and  the  other  troops 
on  the  left  will  presently  chip  in. 

R.  thinks  that  Allcnby  will  be  all  right  at  Gaza,  as  he  is 
quite  satisfied  and  has  now  been  well  fitted  out.  He  says 
that  we  hav  not  pressed  for  Sarrail's  recall  lately.  Maude 
The  Turks  had  some  6000  men  at  Ramadie, 
and  have  four  to  five  divisions  on  the  Tigris,  besides  the 
forces  at  Aleppo,  supposed  to  be  seventeen  divisions,  but 
some  may  be  only  .'5<i(iit  strong,  Maude  has  used  his  eentral 
situation  well,  and  the  Turks  will  try  to  threaten  with  ono 

force  and  attack  with  the  other.  R.  dubious  how  Falken- 
hayn  will  gel  aphis  Aleppo  forces  to  the  front  and  supply 
them.    (>n  the  whole,  B.  says  that  the  w.n  Cabinet,  apart 


62  EVENTS  AND  OPINIONS 

from  the  question  of  Man-Power,  are  doing  well  and  he  is 
not  much  troubled  by  them  now,  but  he  grumbles  that 
L.  G.  is  still  always  starting  new  hares.  There  is  no  news 
yet  of  any  great  German  movement  from  East  to  West. 
R.  growls  about  the  600  guns  that  we  have  given  to  Russia, 
and  says  that  they  have  not  yet  been  in  action.  He  does 
not  think  that  we  shall  send  Russia  much  more.  He  is 
rather  critical  of  the  Italian  fighting  power,  and  does  not 
apparently  hope  for  much  more  on  that  front  this  year. 
Cadorna  turned  down  the  Tank  question  and  said  that  he 
could  not  use  them.  Dall'  Olio  might  have  inquired  before 
asking  for  them  from  Mola. 

R.  thinks  it  wrong  that  Reggie  with  50,000  acres  in  Wilt- 
shire, half  Dublin,  and  his  hospital,  should  remain  in  France 
and  leave  all  the  immense  task  of  administration  to  Lady  Bee. 
Reggie  has  been  out  for  three  years,  and  Bee  is  getting  worn 
out.  She  made  no  request  to  R.  but  the  latter  discussed 
the  question  with  me.  R.  said  that  he  himself  might  as 
well  be  in  the  ranks.  He  made  us  laugh  a  good  deal  with 
his  caustic  remarks  on  men  and  things.  When  told  that 
Henry  vm.  gave  Wilton  to  the  Pembrokes,  he  asked  '  Who 
did  he  steal  it  from  ?  '  R.  very  happy  and  enjoyed  his 
rest  immensely.  He  says  that  he  hates  great  week-end 
parties  '  as  one  gets  mucked  about  by  everybody  and  might 
as  well  be  at  the  War  Office.'  We  came  back  together 
Monday  morning,  motoring  to  Winchester,  and  thence  by 
train.  Waterloo  had  two  bombs  in  the  late  raid,  and  there 
was  some  glass  broken  in  the  station  and  the  adjoining 
streets,  while  seven  feet  of  steel  rail  was  blown  up  and  fell 
on  the  platform  by  the  Inquiry  Office.  I  saw  no  signs  of 
other  harm  as  I  drove  through  London. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE,  OCTOBER  1917 

Major  Comber  on  the  French — A  conversation  with  General  Foch — 
Government  and  Censorship — A  conversation  with  Marshal  Joffre — 
The  question  of  an  Inter-Allied  Staff — Marshal  Joffre's  Conferences 
at  Chant  illy— His  plans  for  1916  and  1917 — His  opinions  about 
American  assistance — M.  Painleve  on  the  war  and  French  politics — 
Question  of  the  British  taking  over  more  front — A  conversation  with 
M.  Clemenceau — His  opinions  on  some  French  generals — On  French, 
English,  and  Germans  under  punishment — On  the  staleness  of  the 
French  troops — On  French  shortage  of  wheat — On  a  new  German 
peace  offer — On  French  casualties — M.  Clemenceau's  life — M.  Hcr- 
bette's  views  on  our  policy  towards  Austria — A  smash  on  my  way  to 
Compiegne — A  conversation  with  General  Petain — The  question  of 
fronts  occupied — Two  contingencies  for  1918 — Difficult  French  posi- 
tion— General  Petain's  latest  bouiade — Slow  progress  of  American 
training — Colonel  de  Cointet's  estimate  of  the  German  situation — 
Views  of  our  mission  at  the  G.Q.G. — Motor  to  Chaumont — General 
Pershing's  Staff — The  situation  of  the  Americans  described — They  are 
impressed  by  our  Army — General  Pershing's  views  of  the  position — 
The  American  troops — Major  Robert  Bacon's  views — Domremy — A 
talk  with  General  Trenchard — Radingham  Chateau — Brig.-General 
Charteris  on  our  strategy — General  Plumer  on  Flanders  fighting — 
General  Home  at  Ranchicourt — Talks  at  G.H.Q.  at  Blendecques — 
Sir  Philip  Sassoon— F.M.  Sir  D.  Haig's  views — General  Kiggell  on 
strategy — Strong  objections  to  take  over  more  of  the  line. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  2.  Lunched  at  the  Lockett  Agnews'. 
Walked  round  to  meet  Londonderry  at  Londonderry 
House.  He  says  1  hat  lie  finds  the  Nationalists  in  the 
Convention  to  l»<-  patriots  and  anxious  to  preserve  the 
Crown  and  the  Union.  They  are  getting  on  well,  but  the 
crux  will  be  tn  bring  in  the  stalwarts  of  Ulster  who  do  not 
want  a  settlement,  and  L.  expects  to  be  thrown  over  by 
them,    ll'  thai    Canon   must   convince  them.    We 

walked  to  the   War  Ollice.     1  saw  Jaek  CowaiiH,  Fagalde, 

•I 


64  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

and  Maurice.  Fagalde  wants  me  to  go  and  see  Foch  when 
I  reaeh  Paris.  Maurice  much  concerned  at  the  attitude 
of  the  Press  towards  air-raids  and  their  cry  that  German 
towns  must  be  bombed.  We  have  only  four  bombing 
squadrons,  and  as  they  have  each  only  100  miles  radius  of 
action  we  must  take  them  to  Nancy  to  do  any  good,  and 
meanwhile  their  offensive  value  in  our  front  is  lost.  He 
was  critical  of  the  Times  leader  of  yesterday  on  this  subject. 
Trenchard  turned  up,  and  was  irate  about  the  folly  of  the 
same  criticism.  He  says  that  the  long-range  bombing 
squadrons  are  not  ready  yet,  and  will  not  be  ready  till  the 
winter.  Somebody  decidedly  should  be  hanged  for  this 
after  three  years  of  war.  I  explained  the  situation  in  an 
article  to  the  Times,  but  it  did  not  get  fully  published. 

Wednesday,  Oct.  3.  Left  Charing  Cross  11.50  a.m.  and 
reached  Boulogne  after  5  p.m.  A  full  boat  and  a  roughish 
sea.  Met  Lovat  on  board,  returning  to  Le  Touquet  where  he 
has  a  large  mess  of  all  his  foresters.  We  discussed  politics. 
I  was  met  at  Boulogne  by  Major  Comber,  the  Cambridge 
Don  who  does  Intelligence  at  the  port.  He  gave  me  dinner 
and  we  discussed  French  feeling.  He  says  that  Boulogne 
has  made  such  a  lot  of  money  that  it  is  compensated.  He 
thinks  that  only  some  of  the  older  men  are  against  con- 
tinuing the  war,  although  he  admits  that  there  is  fatigue. 
C.  says  that  there  have  been  many  marriages  between  our 
men  and  French  girls,  and  that  the  people  think  that  the 
girls  will  bring  back  the  men  to  their  French  homes  after 
the  war.  Good-looking  peasant  girls  of  a  better  class  seem 
the  favourites.  One  mayor,  on  taking  leave  of  a  British 
cavalry  regiment,  referred  to  the  many  little  souvenirs 
which  it  was  leaving  behind  it.  The  Colonel  thought  that 
this  was  spoken  sarcastically,  and  wrote  a  letter  of  regret, 
whereupon  the  mayor  posted  off  to  see  him  and  assured 
him  that  this  was  not  the  case,  and  that  the  regiment  had 
conferred  a  lasting  benefit  on  the  district.  Left  by  the 
9.10  p.m.  for  Paris.  No  sleeping  cars,  and  had  to  sit  up  all 
night. 

Thursday,  Oct.  4.     Reached  the  Ritz  about  7  a.m.     Found 


1917]  A  TALK  WITH  FOCH  65 

it  was  a  no-hot-water  day,  but  managed  to  get  a  hot  if 
shallow  bath.  Le  Roy-Lewis  came  to  see  me.  A  talk 
of  politics,  love,  and  war.  I  then  went  to  the  Boulevard 
des  Invalides  to  see  General  Foch,  the  Chief  of  Staff,  who 
is  installed  at  the  old  Conseil  Superieur  de  la  Guerre  rooms, 
with  General  Weygand,  Colonel  Georges,  and  a  couple 
more  of  his  old  Army  Staff.  Found  Lieut. -Colonel  Spiers 
and  Albert  de  Mun's  son  working  together,  Spiers  being 
liaison  officer  between  Foch  and  Robertson.  He  has  been 
four  times  wounded,  once  very  badly.  He  gave  me  a  good 
account  of  things  generally.  Spiers  is  sure  that  the  French 
offensive  is  coming  off.  I  asked  why  the  contrary  view 
prevailed  in  London.  He  says  that  it  cannot  have  arisen 
M  the  result  of  the  last  Boulogne  Conference  on  Sept.  25, 
as  he,  Spiers,  was  there  all  the  time,  from  9  a.m.  to  1.30 
p.m.,  with  Painleve  and  L.  G.  alone,  and  then  at  the 
Soldiers'  Conference  in  the  afternoon.  Spiers  deals  with 
Foch  and  Robertson  alone,  and  he  says  that  Fagalde, 
his  opposite  number  in  London,  has  some  difficulties  to 
contend  with. 

I  saw  General  Foch  in  his  office  afterwards  and  found 
him  as  quick  and  intelligent  as  ever.  He  asked  for  my 
views  first  about  London  and  the  state  of  the  Government 
and  public  opinion.  I  gave  them.  He  then  advised 
that  we  should  use  Japanese  troops  in  Mesopotamia  if  we 
needed  reinforcements  there.  He  says  that  the  Japanese 
will  not  go  to  the  Russian  front  for  fear  of  their  troops 
becoming  infected  with  Russian  Socialism.  I  suggested 
that  this  was  only  a  pretext  to  keep  the  Japanese  free  to 
deal  with  China,  but  Foch  thinks  that  the  Japanese  are 
ly  afraid  of  Socialism.  We  agreed  that  the  Japs 
could  get  to  Mesopotamia  easily  and  without  fear  of  sub- 
marines, and  also  perhaps  secretly.  I  asked  F.  if  ho  had 
riinnnnori  this  matter  with  Robertson,  but  F.  said  that 
he  had  not  had  time  to  do  so.  Foch  is  keen  about  pushing 
.,n  the  Greek  divisions,  of  which  he  expects  nine  in  all  and 
not  more.    They  oao   fchen  cither  assisl    in  an  offensive 

Of  take  OUT   placet    if   We  OOme  away.      Be  does  not  think 


66  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

that  much  will  happen  at  Salonika,  and  at  Gaza  he  supposes 
that  Allenby  will  not  be  able  to  go  faster  than  his  railway- 
can  follow  him,  which  is  Murray's  view.  Foch  is  disgusted 
about  Cadorna's  refusal  to  prosecute  his  offensive,  and 
has  informed  Cadorna  that  he  does  not  agree  with  the 
reasons  given  for  this  decision.  Cadorna  has,  however, 
stated  that  there  are  some  reasons  which  he  cannot  give, 
and  they  are  probably  political.  Foch  says  that  it  is  a 
great  pity,  as  the  Austrians  are  at  their  wits'  end  and  can 
do  no  more,  but  that  the  Germans  are  spending  milliards 
to  suborn  Socialists  and  others  and  to  make  them  stab 
people .  in  the  back.  It  is  to  these  influences  that  the 
Italian  Government  appear  to  have  succumbed.  We 
and  the  French  are  withdrawing  our  heavy  guns  from 
Italy  as  a  consequence  of  Cadorna's  decision. 

Spiers  had  told  Weygand  to  warn  Foch  what  I  was 
going  to  say  about  the  postponement  of  the  French  offensive, 
and  had  done  this  with  my  approval.  When  I  raised  the 
question  Foch  said  that  there  had  never  been  any  question  of 
abandoning  the  offensive,  and  that  within  eight  days  it  would 
take  place  with  twelve  to  fourteen  divisions,  news  which  will 
be  a  relief  to  Robertson.  F.  says  that  our  gun  output 
had  gone  down  during  the  last  three  months,  and  I  said 
that  I  would  ask  Churchill  about  it.  Foch  says  that  what 
he  hoped  for  this  year  was  an  attack  by  the  French  and 
English  Armies  side  by  side,  on  a  joint  front  of  80  to  100 
kilometres,  and  that  had  this  taken  place  the  French  could 
have  brought  2600  heavy  guns  into  play.  Now  this  must 
be  postponed  till  next  year  as  it  was  too  late  in  the  year, 
but  if  it  had  been  carried  out  the  Boches  would  have  been 
back  on  the  Meuse.  Foch  thinks  the  guns  and  aeroplanes 
are  the  main  thing,  and  he  prefers  the  smaller  infantry 
divisions,  and  more  of  them,  to  ours.  He  says  that  the 
French  divisions  are  now  only  5000  rifles,  and  the  Boche 
about  7000.  The  French  battalions  have  three  companies 
and  the  Boche  four,  besides  the  machine  -  gun  com- 
panies. It  is  all  a  question  of  aeroplanes  and  guns  and 
the  limited  offensive  as  before.     He  says  that  he  knows 


1917]  FOCH'S  VIEWS  67 

no  better  men  in  our  Army  than  Haig  and  Robertson 
for  the  positions  which  they  occupy,  and  hopes  that  they 
will  be  left  alone.  He  thinks  that  both  Governments 
are  weak  and  unduly  afraid  of  the  Socialists.  L.  G. 
had  told  him  that  he  had  to  keep  4.000,000  men  at  work 
in  England  on  munitions,  etc.,  but  Foch  had  told  him  of 
all  the  work  to  be  done  in  France,  of  the  need  for  their 
old  classes  to  get  to  work  on  the  land  again,  and  of  the 
need  for  France  of  wheat.  Foch  says  that  for  the  Ameri- 
cans alone  the  French  have  300,000  men  at  work  on  the 
winter  quarters  for  ten  camps  of  Americans,  and  that  as 
the  Americans  are  using  German  ships  of  great  length  and 
draught  the  French  have  to  build  ports  on  the  Atlantic  to 
take  them,  and  also  railways  to  carry  the  plant  forward. 
He  will  not  say  that  there  have  been  no  differences  with 
the  Americans,  but  all  is  in  course  of  settlement.  Foch 
also  said  that  the  French  have  now  300  Russian-speaking 
officers  in  Russia  on  a  mission  to  reorganise  the  Army 
morally  and  materially.  They  were  to  go  to  all  the  Group, 
Army,  and  Army  Corps  Headquarters,  as  well  as  to  the 
regiments,  and  to  preach  the  need  for  discipline  in  a  Re- 
public. He  wished  that  we  should  do  the  same  for  the 
Russian  Navy.  Even  if  the  French  had  only  one-half 
the  success  that  they  had  had  with  the  Rumanians  it  would 
be  well  worth  the  trouble.  We  spoke  of  effectives,  and 
I  asked  if  it  were  correct  that  the  French  had  not  yet 
incorporated  the  1919,  1918,  and  part  of  the  1917  classes. 
Foch  said  that  this  was  true  of  the  first  two  contingents. 
Then,  I  said,  you  have  350,000  of  these  young  men  available 
for  drafts.  Yes,  he  replied,  including  both  of  them,  but 
he  could  not  say  exactly  how  many  of  the  1917  class  were 
still  available.  The  Americans  promised  60,000  to  70,000 
men  a  month. 

I      Iced  him  it  he  wa    rea  sored  about  the  effects  of  the 

submarine  war,  and  whether  he  thought   that  the  U-boats 

would  prevent  the  continuation  of  \lw  war.     He  said  that 
h<-  1  ored,  provided  the  menace  was  kept   within 

the  present  limits.    H<  told  me  that  his  relations  with  the 


68  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

French  politicians,  with  Petain,  and  with  us  were  excellent. 
Drove  to  the  Bois  and  had  a  good  walk  with  Le  Roy.  We 
discussed  French  affairs  and  all  the  horrible  scandals  arising 
out  of  the  Bolo,  Bonnet  Rouge,  and  Trumel  affairs.  It 
is  all  a  great  worry  for  Painleve.  Le  Roy  asked  me  the 
inevitable  question  about  the  end  of  the  war,  and  I  said 
that  I  saw  no  good  reason  why  it  should  end  until  the 
Huns  were  more  badly  beaten.  Since  nations  counted 
money  no  more  than  pebbles  on  a  beach,  and  all  would 
probably  repudiate  in  one  form  or  another  at  the  end  of  the 
war,  there  seemed  no  reason  for  stopping,  especially  as  so 
many  people  were  growing  rich  by  the  war ;  the  ladies  liked 
being  without  their  husbands,  and  all  dreaded  the  settle- 
ment afterwards, industrial,  political, financial, and  domestic. 
A  good  story  of  the  girl  shopwoman  struggling  to  ascer- 
tain the  discount  on  the  sale  of  some  goods. 

Dined  with  Le  Roy  at  the  Ritz.  Esher  came  in,  and  we 
all  then  adjourned  upstairs  to  talk.  Sir  Alan  Johnstone, 
Mrs.  Toby  Long,  and  Geoffrey  Glyn  dining  too.  We  dis- 
cussed the  inevitable  subject.  People  ask  me  to  tell  the 
truth  about  the  war  and  all  the  mismanagement  of  Man- 
Power,  aircraft,  minefields,  etc.,  but  I  have  to  point  out 
that  a  Government  with  a  Censorship  is  the  master  of  the 
Press,  which  is  practically  powerless.  The  whole  beauty 
of  Censorship  is  that  it  prevents  military  misgovernment 
from  being  shown  up.  Governing  and  misgoverning  are 
then  as  easy  as  falling  off  a  log.  I  was  told  that  at  the 
time  of  the  change  of  Nivelle  to  Petain  our  War  Cabinet 
sent  a  telegram  deprecating  the  change.  This  shows  up 
their  complete  ignorance  of  the  characters  of  the  two  men 
and  of  the  position  here  in  May  last.  John  Murray  is 
going  to  publish  Esher's  journal  of  the  first  two  years  of 
the  war,  and  Esher  says  he  hopes  that  the  Government 
will  like  it.     We  talked  till  late  of  many  things  and  people. 

Friday,  Oct.  5.  Went  round  to  the  ficole  Superieur  de 
la  Guerre  to  visit  Marshal  Joffre.  Found  him  handsomely 
installed  and  looking  well  and  vigorous  :  much  less  worried 
than  when  I  saw  him  last  at  Chantilly.     He  had  so  many 


1917]  THINGS  IN  FRANCE  60 

engagements  that  we  put  off  our  talk  till  the  afternoon 
alter  a  short  and  cordial  conversation.  His  chef  (lit  cabinet, 
while  1  Avas  waiting  to  sic  the  Marshal,  opened  up  the 
question  of  an  Inter-Allied  staff  under  the  Marshal  to  direct 
the  operations  and  prevent  the  present  want  of  co-operation. 
He  wants  the  Marshal  to  be  at  the  head  of  two  French 
General*  and  one  British,  Russian,  American,  and  Italian. 
I  did  not  think  much  of  the  scheme,  as  no  Power  will  accept 
a  -ubordinate  position,  so  I  only  said  that  I  had  been  against 
the  scheme  but  admitted  that  the  question  had  somewrhat 
changed  its  aspect  since  the  Marshal  has  resumed  an  in- 
dependent position. 

Went  to  the  Ministere  de  1'Armement  and  met  Pernot 
and  had  a  drive  with  him.  M.  Loisy  received  me,  but  the 
Minister  M.  Loucheur  is  on  a  strike  conference  all  day  so 
I  cannot  see  him.  Loisy  assures  me  that  all  goes  well, 
and  that  thejr  are  deeply  indebted  to  our  people  for  ferrying 
across  the  Atlantic  all  the  steel  which  awaits  the  French 
at  the  New  York  docks.  The  details  of  Haig's  fight  yester- 
day are  nowr  to  hand  and  show  another  success  on  the 
Passchendaele  Ridge.  Painleve  much  worried  in  Parlia- 
ment over  the  Bolo  and  other  cases,  but  spoke  up  well 
yesterday  and  received  an  almost  unanimous  vote  of  con- 
fidence, but  the  feeling  shown  was  not  good.  Lunched 
with  Mrs.  Toby  Long  :  Sevastopoulo  joined  us  for  coffee, 
;md  was  gloomy  about  Russia,  but  not  without  hope  of  an 
improvement.  Pernot  came  afterwards.  He  is  unhappy 
aboul  Italy,  and  says  thai  the  Italians  are  furious  with  us 
for  withdrawing  our  heavy  guns,  of  which  the  French  had 
ion  in  Italy.  II.  docs  not  think  a  separate  peace  between 
b.ily  and  Austria  inconceivable.  He  thinks  that  the  set 
made  against    Lord   Bertie   is   unfortunate,  and  that  the 

Amba.-ador   has   many  friends  and   is   much   trusted.      He 

that  tli<-  June  troubles  affected  parts  of  tun  French 
division!  and  that  it  was  serious,  but  Petals  by  a  mixture 
of  firmness  and   pel  D  managed  i"   put    things  right. 

H.  considen  t  hat  we  should  take  over  more  "i  I  he  line,  and 
1  hat  t  In-  is  a  primary  interest  of  t  he  French  Government . 


7o  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

Went  again  to  see  Marshal  Joffre,  and  we  had  an  hour 
and  a  half's  conversation.  He  began  by  saying  that  he 
did  not  wish  me  to  mention  him  if  I  write  anything  for 
the  Press,  as  any  mention  of  him  would  be  an  ennui  to 
the  Government.  I  said  that  I  wished  to  know  his 
views  on  the  general  situation,  and  that  the  only  personal 
matter  which  I  wished  to  discuss  was  his  position  in  the 
matter  of  the  Inter-Allied  staff  question.  He  is  evidently 
much  in  favour  of  it.  He  says  that  the  operations  have 
become  very  slatternly,  as  witness  the  fact  that  we  had 
been  fighting  for  six  weeks  alone,  and  that  this  gave  an 
undue  advantage  to  Germany.  An  Inter-Allied  staff  under 
his  direction  could  centralise  information  and  opinions, 
and  even  if  they  could  not  give  orders,  the  directives  issued 
would  be  valuable  to  all  Governments,  if  only  in  a  con- 
sultative sense.  He  said  that  he  had,  without  consulting  his 
Government,  first  assembled  a  conference  of  this  character 
at  Chantilly  in  June  1915,  and  that  it  was  the  first  of  five  or 
six  reunions  of  this  character.  Certain  decisions  had  been 
taken  as  to  the  character  and  date  of  Allied  offensives,  a 
margin  of  three  weeks  to  a  month  being  allowed  to  each 
Power,  because  in  a  month  the  Germans  could  make  no 
important  alterations  as  between  East  and  West.  He  had 
only  informed  his  Government  of  the  decisions  when  made, 
and  they  had  been  glad  to  have  them  and  had  accepted 
them.  The  successful  campaign  of  1916  had  been  fought 
under  this  system .  Joffre  described  the  old  Cabinet  Councils 
and  War  Councils  of  the  Viviani  and  Briand  Governments 
as  most  unbusinesslike  ;  there  was  no  proces  verbal  in  either 
case,  and  usually  no  decisions.  I  said  that  ours  belonged  to 
the  same  family.  Joffre  had  at  last  insisted  that  the  agenda 
papers  should  be  sent  to  him  beforehand,  and  then  he  either 
wrote  or  caused  to  be  written  a  short  memorandum  on  each 
question,  and  he  ended  these  with  a  questionnaire  which 
demanded  an  answer  Yes  or  No.  Thereby  decisions  were 
obtained,  and  some  sort  of  consecutive  ideas  were  pursued, 
but  he  did  not  know  what  the  practice  was  now. 

The  Marshal  said  that  his  plan  for  1917  was  prepared  in 


1917]         MARSHAL  JOFFRE'S  OPINIONS  71 

December  1910,  and  the  attack  was  planned  for  February 
15.  He  was  beginning  all  his  preparations,  including 
railway-  towards  the  region  from  which  the  Bodies  retired, 
when  he  fell.  His  plan  was  immediately  changed  ;  the 
troops  \\rn-  Benl  to  different  places,  and  his  railways  were 
stopped.  Therefore  when  the  Bodies  retired  we  had  no 
facilities  for  pursuit.  His  plan  was  for  a  joint  offensive  on 
an  eighty-mile  front,  and  it  would  have  led  to  a  close  pursuit 
when  the  Boches  retired.  He  tried  hard  to  convince  me 
that  the  limited  offensive  was  costly  and  inadvisable. 
He  said  that  with  the  limited  offensive  we  only  captured 
a  small  part  of  the  enemy's  line,  and  did  not  shift  his 
artillery,  hence  heavy  losses  on  our  side  and  nothing  done. 
h  was  necessary  to  go  further  to  reach  the  enemy's  guns. 
I  objected  that  if  the  enemy's  guns  were  not  shifted  our 
superior  guns  would  all  be  ranged  upon  the  Germans,  and 
that  as  we  were  superior  we  should  smash  up  the  German 
guns,  but  Joffre  said  that  other  German  guns  would  come 
up  from  the  reserve.  This  seemed  to  me  an  argument 
coup.  Anyhow  he  does  not  approve  of  the  limited 
offensive  and  prefers  his  own  old  style.  It  is  a  querelle 
d'ecole,  and  appears  to  me  to  depend  on  relative  strengths 
in  men  and  guns.  When  we  get  a  good  superiority  of 
numlx-rs  we  can  revert  to  the  Marshal's  tactics. 

Il>  wbb  very  enthusiastic  about  his  visit  to  America,  ami 
-aid  that  it  had  consoled  him  for  all  that  he  had  suffered. 
1  a«ked  whether  the  Stall"  preparation  of  the  movement 
from  America  to  France  rested  on  solid  bases,  whether  the 
Americana  could  find  the  transport  for  their  increasing 
numbers,  and  whether  they  could  maintain  themselves  in 
food  and  ammunition.  He  thought  that  the  Staff  pre- 
paration was  good  and  that  he  could  give  me  an  assurance 
about  food  and  ammunition.  He  had  left  two  good  officers 
of   his   Stall   in    America,   and  they   helped   and   kept    him 

informed.    At  present  the  [Trench  were  feeding  the  American 

,  hut  the  American!  wore  t<>  repay  this  advance  in 
kind.  There  wore  68,000  Americana  in  Frame  ai  present. 
but  only  one  division,  the  reel  being  administrative  troops, 


72  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

railway  engineers,  etc.  I  could  count  on  60,000  men  a 
month  coming  over.  In  addition  to  the  400,000  tons 
allotted  to  transport,  other  resources  would  soon  be  avail- 
able. Pershing  was  at  Chaumont,  and  Joffre  was  going 
there  in  ten  days'  time.  He  spoke  highly  of  the  West 
Point  officers,  but  admitted  that  the  American  lump 
wanted  much  leavening.  Things  were  going  well,  but  he 
was  not  sure  how  the  Americans  would  frame  in  operations, 
and  evidently  had  some  doubt  on  this  subject.  The  Marshal 
is  never  consulted  about  the  war,  and  is  in  much  the  same 
position  as  Lord  French  in  this  matter.  He  could  not  say 
whether  his  plan  for  1917  would  be  applicable  to  1918, 
as  all  would  depend  on  circumstances  and  the  general  situa- 
tion, but  he  said  that  our  Flanders  offensive  had  little 
strategic  effect.  He  asked  me  to  come  and  see  him  again 
whenever  I  was  in  Paris. 

In  the  evening  M.  Painleve,  the  French  Prime  Minister, 
Le  Roy,  and  I  dined  together  in  Le  Roy's  rooms  at  the  Ritz. 
Painleve  was  looking  fit  and  well,  with  a  good  colour,  and  his 
comparative  youth  must  aid  him  in  all  his  strenuous  work. 
He  ate  and  drank  sparingly,  and  only  smoked  a  couple  of 
cigarettes  afterwards.  He  said  how  much  he  was  indebted 
to  me  and  Le  Roy  for  helping  him  over  the  difficult  time 
when  he  was  struggling  to  secure  Petain's  appointment 
to  the  chief  command,  and  spoke  with  some  warmth  of 
the  '  horrible  despatch  '  which  our  War  Cabinet  had  sent 
on  this  subject.  He  supposed  that  our  Cabinet  was  com- 
pletely misinformed  about  the  situation  at  the  time.  He 
was  much  surprised  to  hear  that  an  impression  prevailed  in 
London  that  the  French  were  not  going  to  attack.  They 
certainly  would,  and  with  a  good  force.  We  lost  our- 
selves in  conjectures  how  the  contrary  impression  had 
been  produced  in  London. 

We  then  discussed  the  political  affairs  of  the  hour,  and 
Painleve  said  that  there  had  never  been  such  an  angry 
seance  as  yesterday's.  He  had  become  Prime  Minister  by 
force  of  circumstances  and  not  by  his  own  wish,  for  he 
liked  the  War  Ministry  and  preferred  it  to  the  other  post. 


1917]  Bt  PAINLEVE  ON  AFFAIRS  73 

He  still  retains  the  War  Ministry.  He  says  that  it  is  true 
that  no  records  are  kept  of  Cabinet  meetings  or  even  of 
the  War  Council  proceedings.  The  object  is  to  prevent 
the  Government  from  being  compelled  to  produce  records 
of  the  proceedings  by  a  vote  in  Parliament.  He  said  that 
Bolo  was  sure  to  be  shot.  His  relations  with  the  Boches 
were  proved.  People  were  trying  to  implicate  Poincare 
because  the  President  had  received  Bolo  twice,  but  he 
received  many  people.  I  asked  why  the  censorship  had 
stopped  the  publication  of  the  proceedings  in  regard  to  Bolo 
in  this  morning's  papers.  He  said  that  he,  Painleve,  would 
not  allow  mud  to  be  thrown  and  for  the  country  to  be 
harassed  by  accusations  which  were  probably  groundless.  It 
was  the  accusation  of  Bolo  that  was  in  question,  and  the 
affair  would  pursue  its  course.  Painleve  thought  that  the 
whole  affair  with  this  sham  Pasha,  his  reputed  wealth,  his 
relations  with  Abbas  Hilmi  and  various  women,  was  like  a 
comic  opera  in  the  setting.  It  is  extraordinary  that  this 
man  should  have  been  able  to  continue  his  life  since  1911 
unchecked,  and  to  have  taken  in  so  many  people.  Monier 
had  been  most  imprudent,  to  say  the  least,  and  Humbert 
had  not  come  well  out  of  yesterday's  debate.  It  was  all 
a  great  worry.  This  Valparaiso  coiffeur  and  his  Mont- 
martre  singing  girl  for  wife  wore  an  extraordinaiy  couple. 
It  was  incredible  that  millions  had  been  poured  out  by 
Germany  to  corrupt  people  and  to  buy  papers,  and  Pain- 
leve did  not  think  that  they  had  gained  much  by  this 
expenditure. 

We  then  talked  effectives  and  the  question  of  our  taking 
over  part  of  the  French  line  Painleve  has  this  point  much 
at  heart  and  wishes  us  to  take  over  the  front  of  two  French 
armies.  He  -aid,  to  my  Burprise,  thai  the  matter  had  been 
agreed  upon  in  principle  between  himself,  L.  G.,  Foch, 
and  Robertson  at  tin-  lasi  Boulogne  Conference  on  Sept. 
24-LT).  it  wai  necessary  to  s<-nd  bach  some  of  the  older 
olai  ec  f"i  ii"-  ahe  <<f  agriculture,  and  \<>  give  as  many 
troops  as  possible  a  good  reel  nol  aeoeesarfly  for  lor 
than  the  winter,  he  added    in  response  to  a  question  of 


74  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

mine.  Le  Roy  pointed  out  that  much  depended  on  the 
Boche  strength  in  our  front.  I  said  that  I  would  endeavour 
to  study  this  question  at  Petain's  and  Haig's  headquarters, 
and  Painleve  said  that  I  could  not  render  France  a  greater 
service  than  by  supporting  the  French  view. 

Saturday,  Oct.  6.  Wrote  in  the  morning.  Lunched  with 
Le  Roy  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Addison  of  our  Embassy.  She 
is  a  pretty  woman  with  reddish  hair  :  they  live  at  Passy. 
Went  off  afterwards  to  call  on  M.  Clemenceau  at  his  rez-de- 
chaussee  in  No.  8  Rue  Franklin.  Clemenceau  is  seventy- 
seven  and  as  full  of  life  and  fire  as  ever.  We  sat  down 
opposite  each  other  at  his  writing  table.  I  said  that  he 
had  not  written  much  about  the  war  lately  and  that  I 
wanted  to  know  his  views.  He  said  that  he  had  not 
written  much  about  the  war  because  one  had  to  tell  lies, 
and  this  was  uncongenial  to  him.  He  approves  of  Petain, 
whom  he  thinks  the  man  for  this  phase  of  the  war.  I  said 
that  because  Petain  was  doing  the  right  thing  now  this 
was  no  reason  why  he  should  not  do  right  again  when 
circumstances  justified  a  change  of  tactics.  C.  likes  Foch. 
C.  and  I  agreed  that  no  better  men  could  be  chosen  than 
these  two.  General  Mangin  had  just  left  Clemenceau,  who 
has  a  high  opinion  of  him  as  a  soldier,  and  says  that  he 
has  been  complimented  by  the  Court  of  Inquiry  on  which 
Foch,  Brugere,  and  Gouraud  are  assessing  the  April  offen- 
sive. He  had  tried  to  induce  Mangin  not  to  refuse  the 
command  of  an  Army  Corps. 

Clemenceau  thought  that  the  French  could  go  on,  but 
that  we  should  take  two  years  more  to  win  the  war.  The 
English  took  their  punishment  in  silence  ;  the  French  made 
too  many  gestes  and  grimaces ;  the  Boches  were  like  dogs, 
who  came  to  heel  when  kicked  and  always  would.  He 
had  no  hope  of  peace  coming  through  any  influence  in 
Germany  outside  the  governing  class,  but  when  the  Kaiser 
had  had  enough  of  the  war  it  would  stop.  He  was  sure 
that  the  war  would  be  decided  on  a  stricken  field  on  the 
Western  front,  as  it  was  for  Napoleon  on  a  battlefield  no 
larger  than  the  Place  de  la  Concorde.     He  and  I  had  been 


1917]  A  TALK  WITH  CLEMENCEAU  75 

right  about  Salonika  from  the  first,  but  he  said  that  he 
was  almost  the  only  man  in  France  who  had  opposed  this 
folly.  He  said  that  the  Japanese  had  refused  to  send 
troops  to  Mesopotamia,  and  we  discussed  alternatives  only 
to  reject  them. 

The  real  trouble  in  France,  continued  Clemenceau,  was 
want  of  wheat  and  the  stateness  of  French  troops  on  their 
too  extended  and  too  weak  front.  The  French  peasant  could 
do  without  meat,  but  he  lived  on  bread.  France  had  only 
grown  35,000,000  hectolitres  of  wheat  instead  of  85,000,000 
before  the  war,  and  had  no  wheat  beyond  February  next. 
The  reduction  in  the  harvest  was  due  to  want  of  labour 
and  manures.  All  the  fields  were  cultivated,  but  not 
well.  The  Argentine  crop  in  December  next  fortunately 
promised  well.  The  troops  were  also  tired,  and  if  the 
French  were  to  go  on  in  1918  we  must  take  over  more  of 
their  line,  and  permit  some  Frenchmen  to  get  to  work  on 
the  next  crop  and  others  to  rest  at  their  homes.  He  had 
been  round  all  the  fronts  constantly  and  had  spoken  to 
many  generals  and  officers  and  men,  and  he  was  sure  of 
his  ground.     What  did  I  think  of  it  ? 

I  said  that  one  could  not  regard  the  matter  from  the 
narrow  point  of  view  of  so  many  men  per  yard,  as  if  we 
were  the  garrison  of  a  defensive  line.  The  character  of  the 
country  and  the  strength  of  the  enemy  also  entered  into 
the  problem,  and  on  many  parts  of  the  French  front  the 
enemy  only  retained  a  screen.  But  more  important  still, 
I  thought,  was  the  plan  for  1918,  which  should  be  made 
directly  our  present  attacks  were  arrested  by  the  weather. 
\W  .-hould  then  agree,  lei  OS  nay,  to  attack  on  a  joint 
front  of  100  miles  in  districts  where  the  ground  was  open 
and  raitable  to  our  Bnperior  artillery,  and  allot  the  neces- 
sary troop-  fco  iIih  front.  Then  the  minimum  needed  for 
the  defensive  occupation  of  other  parts  of  the  front  could 
be  settled  amicably,  demenoean  agreed  with  this  point  of 
view. 

He  also  told  me  thai  Riboi  had  told  him  two  <>r  three 
dayi  ago  thai   the  Germans  had  made  a  peace  offer  to 

vol.  ii.  a 


76  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

France,  offering  her  Alsace-Lorraine  and  most  of  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rhine  if  she  would  abandon  England.  He 
thought  it  a  proof  of  German  weakening,  and  that  it  was 
interesting.  Fortunately,  he  added,  the  agreement  of  the 
Allies  not  to  make  a  separate  peace  stood  in  the  way.  No 
doubt  the  same  thing  was  going  on  in  Russia  and  Italy. 
Clemenceau  says  that  he  has  seen  the  official  figures  of 
losses  as  President  of  the  Army  Commission,  and  that  the 
French  dead  number  1,300,000.  Painleve  had  told  me 
between  1,100,000  and  1,200,000,  and  had  said  that  I 
could  describe  the  French  net  loss  as  that  of  five  generations, 
by  which  he  meant  five  yearly  classes,  and  this  is  certainly 
correct.  Clemenceau  is  not  satisfied  with  the  behaviour 
of  the  women  of  France,  and  was  sarcastic  about  them, 
saying  that  they  were  all  for  money,  furs,  and  jewels,  just  as 
some  of  our  munition  girls  are,  but  he  admitted  that  many 
worked  hard  in  the  fields  and  munition  factories.  Clemen- 
ceau lives  an  odd  life.  He  would  not  dine  in  town  as 
he  says  that  he  goes  to  bed  at  8,  rises  between  1  and 
2  a.m.  to  do  his  work,  and  has  everything  ready  when  his 
man  calls  for  his  copy  at  6  a.m.  He  then  does  his  work 
on  the  Committees  and  in  the  Senate.  I  told  him  that 
his  hours  were  those  of  Napoleon  when  he  was  campaigning. 
We  had  a  cordial  leave-taking,  but  I  wish  the  old  '  tiger  ' 
would  preach  peace  in  politics  instead  of  battle. 

Captain  Philip  Millet  came  in  to  tea.  He  is  now  at  243 
Boulevard  St.  Germain.  He  visits  England  and  keeps 
the  French  Government  informed  of  all  that  we  are  doing, 
sending  in  frequent  reports.  He  declares  that  the  French 
have  not  copied  our  system  of  utilising  waste  lands,  and  that 
the  French  peasants  make  enough  with  little  labour  to  keep 
themselves  in  affluence  without  too  much  toil  to  make 
the  land  bear  its  full  crop.  He  considers  that  these  are 
the  causes  of  the  deficit  which  Clemenceau  mentioned. 
He  also  said  that  Fabian  Ware  had  told  him  that  there 
were  250,000  registered  British  graves  in  France.  I  was 
laid  up  with  a  colic  in  the  evening,  from  eating  the  vile 
French  war-bread,  and  could  not  sit  through  dinner  with 


1917]  MM.  MILLET  AND  HERBETTE  77 

Le  Roy,  Sir  Alan,  and  Mrs.  Toby  Long.  I  told  Le  Roy 
about  Clemenccau's  report  of  Ribot's  observation  with  re- 
gard to  the  German  offer  of  peaee  to  France,  and  Le  Roy 
passed  it  on  at  once  to  Lord  Bertie.  We  expect  that  it 
is  one  of  the  many  hares  started  by  the  Bodies. 

Sunday,  Oct.  7.  Went  to  look  np  Joan  Wodehouse,  who 
has  been  helping  to  nurse  700  French  soldiers  most  of  the 
war  at  the  Hopital  Complement  a  ire,  Val  de  Grace,  No.  1 
Rue  Pasteur.  She  is  living  with  Mdlle.  de  Verez  at  16 
Quai  de  Passy.  She  tells  me  that  the  moral  of  the  French 
troops  at  the  front  was  bad  in  June  after  Nivelle's  failure, 
but  is  now  good.  She  says,  however,  that  the  wounded  in 
hospital  are  gloomy,  and  that  they  are  much  upset  by  the 
French  papers  with  the  accounts  of  all  the  scandals  and 
treacheries,  and  ask  whether  such  a  Government  and  such 
rascals  are  worth  righting  for.  I  advised  her  to  tell  them 
that  they  were  fighting  for  France,  and  that  all  the  Allied 
Armies  had  rotten  Governments.  She  came  on  to  lunch 
with  me,  Mrs.  Long,  and  Sir  Alan  at  the  Ritz.  She  says 
that  she  is  living  in  a  Royalist  circle  where  the  Due  d'Orleans' 
portrait  hangs  on  one  side  of  a  room  and  Marie  Antoinette's 
on  another.  The  Due  is  always  spoken  of  as  the  King, 
and  old  Mine,  de  Verez  thinks  him  an  angel  from  heaven 
and  of  irreproachable  character.  Joan  says  that  she  has 
lost  her  heart  to  the  poilus,  who  write  her  stacks  of  senti- 
mental letters  after  they  have  left  the  hospital.  Sir  Alan 
off  to  Lady  J.'s  hospital,  and  Mrs.  Long  going  back  to  her 
Y.M.r.A.  imt  at  Abbeville. 

M.  Herbette  of  the  Temps  came  to  see  me.  He  writes 
the  leader  every  day  in  Tardieu's  place.  I  gave  him  my 
ideas  of  I  he  edt  nation  for  his  paper.  Herbette  likes  Painleve, 
but  disapproves  of  his  reading  out  Daudet's  letter  in  the 
Chambers  accusing  M.  Malvy  of  being  a  traitor.  Joan, 
by  tin-  way,  says  that  her  Royalist  hosts  arc  mixed  up 
with  the  Action  Francaiee,  and  that  the  staff  all  carry 
revolvers  for  fear  oi  a  Calmette  ooup  by  tin-  Malvy  party. 
Herbette  think-  thai  Painleve*  has  n<>  parliamentary  gifts 
and  will  not  ntay  long.    The  question  of  the  next  Ministry 


78  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

will  depend  upon  the  result  of  the  Socialist  Conference 
at  Bordeaux.  Herbette  is  inclined  to  favour  Viviani,  with 
Clemenceau  as  a  second  string.  We  marvelled  at  Clemen  - 
ceau's  unchanging  youth  and  vigour,  but  Herbette  says 
that  the  younger  deputies  cannot  understand  him.  Herbette 
wants  a  separate  peace  with  Austria,  believing  that  if  we 
try  for  a  separate  peace  with  Bulgaria  we  shall  have  all 
the  States  surrounding  Bulgaria  against  us.  He  wishes  to 
aggrandise  Austria  in  Russian  Poland,  and  to  proceed  by 
granting  autonomy  to  Bohemia,  to  a  Southern  Slav  terri- 
tory, to  a  Poland  under  an  Austrian  prince,  to  the  Ukraine, 
etc.  He  is  not  opposed  to  a  U.S.  guardianship  of  the 
Straits,  but  imagines  that  in  case  of  any  change  here — and 
he  prefers  the  Greeks  to  the  Yankees — Russia  and  Germany 
will  eventually  combine  against  any  such  arrangement. 
He  says  that  Italy  must  have  the  Trent ino  and  Trieste, 
with  a  sphere  of  influence  in  Asia  Minor,  or  the  Italian 
monarchy  will  fall,  and  we  must  take  steps  to  help  her  to 
take  Trieste  if  Austria  will  not  agree.  Herbette 's  idea 
is  that  Russia  is  no  longer  an  aggressive  State  or  a  danger 
to  Austria,  and  that  therefore  the  latter  is  tending  to  regard 
Germany  as  her  chief  rival.  Austria  should  have  the 
Bocche  di  Cattaro  as  her  Adriatic  base,  and  a  Serbian 
outlet  must  be  discovered  in  the  same  sea.  Herbette 
wants  to  take  part  of  Alsace  in  the  spring  as  a  hostage, 
but  I  told  him  that  a  blow  at  the  Army  heart  of  Germany 
seemed  preferable  to  me,  as  its  success  would  make  her 
give  way  elsewhere.  Herbette  is  going  to  start  an  anti- 
Bulgaria  campaign  in  order  to  help  his  Austrian  plan.  He 
says  that  Balfour  knows  all  about  the  German  peace  offer, 
or  piege  as  he  calls  it.  He  also  told  me  that  there  were 
means  of  communicating  directly  with  Austria  without 
passing  through  the  Vatican,  and  that  when  fifty  million 
people  in  Austria  know  that  they  can  have  peace,  Germany 
will  not  be  able  to  prevent  it.  In  Paris  they  talk  of  the 
Saint  Piege  in  place  of  the  Saint  Siege.  Herbette  thinks 
that  the  Russians  are  already  sick  of  their  Revolution, 
but  that  in  the  general  chaos  Kerensky  can  do  as  he  likes. 


1917]  A  MOTOR  SMASH  79 

In  the  afternoon  I  motored  to  Compiegne.  A  high  wind 
and  heavy  rain.  Just  beyond  Chapelle  en  Serval,  about 
half-way  on  my  journey,  the  motor  capoted  in  trying  to 
avoid  a  collision  on  the  greasy  road,  and  we  turned  over 
going  sixty  kilometres  an  hour.  The  chauffeur  was  chucked 
clear.  I  was  imprisoned  in  the  car,  which  was  upside  down, 
and  found  it  ridiculously  hard  to  get  out.  The  petrol  was 
leaking  into  the  car  everywhere,  but  fortunately  did  not 
catch  fire,  and  I  got  clear  without  a  scratch.  An  old  lady, 
running  up  to  be  in  at  the  death,  fainted  in  my  arms  because 
1  was  not  killed,  from  sheer  disappointment.  Walked  back 
in  a  rain  storm  to  Chapelle  and  telephoned  to  Compiegne 
for  a  relief  car  as  ours  was  past  praying  for.  Spent  an 
hour  and  a  half  at  Chapelle  with  Mdlle.  Ayard,  the  directricc 
des  postes,  and  her  mixed  staff.  We  talked  politics  and 
the  Boandals.  They  were  all  cursing  the  Government,  and 
asking  whether  it  was  worth  while  to  go  on  righting  for 
such  a  canaille.  I  pointed  out  that  this  was  just  the  effect 
which  the  Bodies  hoped  to  produce  by  their  bribery,  and 
bet  her  two  sous  that  Bolo  would  be  shot.  She  told  me 
that  the  district  produced  beet  mainly,  and  that  though  the 
fields  were  leas  well  cultivated  than  formerly,  the  farmers 
were  very  well  off.  The  deterioration  of  farming  she  put 
down  to  tin-  despondency  caused  by  the  length  of  the  war 
and  the  lose  of  the  men  in  battle.  But  good  business  was 
!*-iiiLr  done  with  the  troops  by  the  grocers,  fruiterers,  wine 
merchants,  and  -mall  traders. 

I :  tched  Compiegne  1  hree-quarters  of  an  hour  late  for  dinner 
and  found  P6tairj  nearly  finished,  with  eight  other  officers.  I 
was  cold  and  wet.  After  dinner  we  adjourned  to  an  adjoin- 
ing room,  when-  all  the  stall  made  their  bows  and  retired. 
1  ;  •  ■■■  \  ranted  to  discuss  two  questions  with  him,  the 
extension  of  the  British  front  and  the  eternal  question  of 
He  produced  a  portfolio  of  papers  on  the  first 
question.  The  firsl  paper  whioh  he  drew  out  showed  that 
we  occupied  so  tar  as  I  can  recall  the  figure  n>7  kilo- 
metre of  front  and  the  French  670  ;  that  we  had  1,800,000 
oombatantt  agaii   1  84  i Germarj  ,  thai  the  French  had 


8o  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

1,130,000  combatants  against  1,139,000  Germans ;  and 
that  Anthoine's  six  divisions,  and  the  110,000  Belgians, 
were  included  in  the  figures  on  the  British  front.  Petain 
said  that  he  was  too  thin,  and  that  he  wished  us  to  take 
over  the  fronts  now  held  by  his  3rd  and  6th  Armies  on 
our  right,  a  total  additional  front  of  90  kilometres,  which 
would  bring  us  to  the  Soissons  region.  He  said  that  his 
numbers  would  fall  by  attrition  between  the  present  date 
and  March  next,  and  that  he  would  have  to  break  up  10 
divisions,  which  would  leave  him  with  only  100.  He  had 
men  up  to  47  years  of  age  in  the  ranks,  while  we  had  men  only 
up  to  42.  On  the  other  hand,  the  French  1919  class  were 
not  yet  censes.  France  was  avaricious  of  expending  her 
young  men,  and  we  of  our  older  men.  He  did  not  want  to 
lose  men  from  the  front,  but  he  needed  to  create  a  reserve 
of  two  Armies  behind  his  line  for  contingencies,  so  that  his 
military  object  accords  with  Painleve's  political  aim.  He 
has  told  Painleve  that  for  every  50,000  men  that  are 
sent  home  he  will  have  to  reduce  3  divisions.  This  is  in 
addition  to  the  10  which  he  must  automatically  lose  by 
March  next. 

Petain's  view  of  the  war  is  that  we  must  prepare  for  two 
contingencies,  one  in  which  we  can  attack  in  1918,  and  the 
other  in  which  the  Germans  bring  over  so  many  divisions 
from  the  East  that  we  are  thrown  upon  the  defensive. 
The  addition  of  American  divisions  is  not  likely  to  produce 
before  March  a  greater  profit  than  the  French  normal 
attrition  produces  loss.  Petain  is  prepared  to  admit  that 
anything  from  30  to  60  German  divisions  may  come  West, 
and  that  we  shall  be  duly  apprised  of  their  advent.  In 
either  case  he  will  need  a  general  reserve  of  two  Armies, 
and  he  cannot  find  them  unless  we  can  take  over  more  line. 
He  admits  that  the  decision  on  this  subject  can  be  post- 
poned until  the  present  operations  are  concluded.  Rawlin- 
son's  4th  Army  will  then  be  available  for  Haig  ;  the  Belgians 
will  resume  their  places  ;  and  the  French  Groupement  de 
Nieuport  will  return  to  its  old  place.  He,  Petain,  was  about 
to  attack  the  German  salient  on  the  Aisne,  and  could  not 


1917]  PLAIN'S  SITUATION  81 

afford  to  fail.  He  had  been  delayed  by  the  question  of  the 
100  heavy  guns  in  Italy,  but  would  attack  without  doubt. 

Petain  said  that  he  entertained  no  doubt  that  ho  would 
encounter  opposition  when  he  raised  the  question  with  Haig 
of  the  extension  of  the  British  front.  He  spoke  highly  of 
Haig,  with  whom  his  relations  were  excellent.  Haig's  opinion 
was  that  the  British  Government  wished  the  British  Armies 
to  attack,  and  that  the  French  Government  did  not  wish 
theirs  to  do  so.  Haig  therefore  thought  that  he  should 
retain  a  preponderance  for  this  purpose,  a  view  which  seemed 
to  me  very  reasonable  if  the  premises  were  correct.  Haig, 
said  Petain,  meant  to  continue  this  offensive  in  Flanders 
next  year.  Petain's  position  would  then  become  delicate, 
for  he  would  be  weak,  unable  to  attack  anywhere,  or  to 
fill  gaps  made  by  a  German  offensive  with  their  troops 
from  the  Russian  front.  Petain  wishes  to  attack  in  Cham- 
pagne next  year,  and  wishes  us  to  attack  on  the  St.  Quentin 
front,  when  we  shall,  if  successful,  nip  between  us  the 
Boche  front  behind  the  Aisne,  the  direction  of  our  offensive 
being  easterly  and  Petain's  northerly.  I  asked  Petain 
whether  he  had  discussed  his  plan  for  1918  with  Haig. 
Petain  said  that  he  had  not,  and  had  not  told  any  one  but 
me.  I  said  that  I  thought,  in  these  circumstances,  that  I 
should  not  mention  the  plan  to  Haig,  and  Petain  agreed. 

Petain  asked  what  I  thought  of  this  situation.  1  said 
that  I  had  not  spoken  to  Robertson  or  Haig  on  these  great 
questions,  and  that  my  views  were  entirely  my  own.  I 
objected  altogether  to  the  calculation  of  forces  and  kilo- 
metres as  though  wo  were  the  passive  garrisons  of  a  fortress 
or  a  trench  system.  I  thought  that  the  preliminary  need 
was  to  settle  the  front  or  fronts  of  attack  for  1918,  then 
to  deride  what  forces  were  to  be  used  on  these  fronts,  and 
then  to  allot  the  residue  to  the  fronts  where  neither  of  us 
were  attacking.  1  could  not  admit  that  wo  should  first 
detail  the  troops  for  the  defensive  fronts  and  then  allot  the 
due  to  the  attacks.  This  I  understood  t<>  havo  been 
the  practice  in  the  past,  and  I  wholly  disapproved  of  it. 
Booh  i  great  attack  as  he  and  I  had  in  our  minds  was  Bure 


82  THE  FEONT  IN  FRANCE 

to  attract  to  itself  all  the  German  reserves  if  we  had  the 
initiative,  and  would  consequently  protect  indirectly  our 
defensive  fronts.  I  said  that  we  could  have  the  initiative 
if  we  attacked  early  enough,  say  by  February  15,  in  principle, 
but  as  to  the  questions  of  the  fronts  of  attack  and  Petain's 
plan,  I  could  say  nothing  of  value  until  I  knew  what  our 
people  thought  of  it.  I  also  allowed  that  if  30  to  60  German 
divisions  came  West  next  year  and  were  added  to  the 
38  German  divisions  at  the  present  moment  in  reserve  on 
the  Western  front,  we  were  certainly  in  no  position  to  make 
a  general  attack,  and  should  have  to  dig  and  wire  ourselves 
well  in,  and  wait  for  1919  and  for  the  Americans.  Much 
depended,  therefore,  on  what  the  Russians  could  do,  and  here 
we  were  in  the  region  of  conjecture.  Petain  said  that  he 
had  ordered  his  people  to  give  him  no  more  reports  about 
the  Russians  until  they  did  something.  I  approved  of  the 
general  plan  of  the  two  Armies  attacking  in  co-operation, 
and  as  for  the  St.  Quentin  attack  which  Petain  proposed, 
I  admitted  that  we  could  probably  attack  there  earlier  in 
the  year  than  in  Flanders,  and  so  had  a  better  chance  of 
seizing  the  initiative.  I  said  that  I  should  have  to  study  the 
ground,  and  particularly  the  passage  of  the  Oise.  There 
had  been  two  successful  passages  of  great  rivers  by  the 
Germans  in  the  war,  over  the  Danube  and  the  Dvina,  but 
against  inferior  or  undisciplined  troops,  while  ours  on  the 
Aisne  had  been  against  Germans  temporarily  in  retreat. 
I  thought  the  passage  of  a  great  river  a  formidable  affair  in 
these  days. 

Petain  said  that  he  foresaw  great  difficulties  when  he 
discussed  these  matters  with  Haig.  He  thought  that  our 
people  were  very  tenacious  of  their  ideas,  kept  a  straight 
course,  but  ran  in  blinkers — and  he  held  up  his  hands  to 
his  face  to  show  what  he  meant.  He  had  the  greatest 
respect  for  Haig  and  admired  his  tenacity  and  the  great 
achievements  of  our  Armies,  but  could  not  think  that  our 
attack  in  Flanders  was  good  strategy.  What  did  I  think 
of  it,  and  was  not  the  strategy  imposed  upon  us  by  our 
Admiralty  ? 


1917]  FLANDERS  STEATEGY  83 

I  replied  that  on  the  latter  point  I  had  no  information, 
but  that  I  thought  killing  Bodies  was  always  good  business, 
and  that  Haig  was  killing  a  lot.  Also,  he  had  freed  Ypres 
from  strangulation,  and  now  on  his  whole  front  had  the  best 
of  the  ground  and  could,  at  need,  hold  it  defensively  with 
reduced  effectives.  This  was  worth  doing.  But  if  the 
strategical  objective  were  the  submarine  bases,  I  thought 
this  of  second-rate  importance,  as  the  best  German  sub- 
marines came  from  German  and  not  Flanders  ports.  As 
for  the  Low  Countries,  I  said  Petain  knew  that  my  preference 
to  keep  out  of  them,  because  one  could  fight  anywhere 
except  in  water  and  mud.  I  thought  that  an  advance 
down  the  Meuse  was  the  correct  strategic  line  of  attack  for 
us  to  adopt,  and  had  so  told  Lord  French  as  early  as  1914, 
since  it  had  offered  the  most  brilliant  results  if  successful  ; 
but  if  this  could  not  be  prosecuted, — and  I  knew  no  reason 
why  it  could  not  be — then  I  did  not  much  care  what  line 
w  as  elected  bo  long  as  our  two  Armies  acted  in  co-operation. 
1  was  doubtful  whether  a  repetition  of  1915  in  1918  would 
pay,  but  must  first  learn  our  G.H.Q.  view  more  completely. 
1  wanted  to  see  our  respective  Armies  act  within  co-operat- 
ing distance,  and  to  choose  good  open  ground  where  our 
superior  artillery  would  give  its  full  value. 

We  then  discussed  the  moral  of  the  French,  and  Petain 
told  me  of  the  terrible  time  he  had  passed  through  last 
June.  The  moral  was  now  completely  re-established  at 
t  he  front.  He  only  feared  the  rear  and  the  effect  of  current 
Boandalfl  and  treacheries.  He  had  inspected  80  divisions 
unoe  he  had  assumed  command,  and  spent  from  two  to 
four  nights  in  the  train  each  week.  He  liked  Painleve, 
whom  be  considered  an  honest  man,  but  had  to  admit 
i!).,t  he  did  not  ahine  as  Prime  Minister,  and  would  not 
la  1  long.  Ho  got  on  will  with  ('live  of  our  Mission  hen 
and  told  him  everything,  bul  Petain's  officers  at  our  GJI.Q, 
did  not  receive  all  the  information  asked  for,  and  Petain 
■aid  thai  he  had  onlj  a  very  approximate  idea  oi  our 
numbers.  Hisoffioen  at  GJLQ.  were  told  thai  the  details 
would  not  interest  th<   French,  though  these  matters  stood 


84  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

at  the  base  of  all  calculations.  He  was  merely  informed 
that  the  British  would  have  a  difficulty  in  keeping  up  their 
strength  after  December.  He  said  that  Charteris  killed 
off  the  Germans  too  quickly,  and  that  he  and  Davidson 
egged  on  Haig  to  believe  that  he  was  winning  the  war  when 
we  were  still  far  from  that  desirable  consummation. 

I  asked  Petain  if  his  latest  boutade  was  true.  I  had  heard 
that  after  my  last  visit  he  had  said  to  M.  Poincare,  '  Per- 
sonne  n'est  mieux  place  que  vous,  M.  le  President,  de  savoir 
que  la  France  est  ni  gouvernee  ni  commandee.' x  Petain  said 
that  it  was  true,  and  that  Poincare  had  been  very  cross 
about  it  at  the  time.  We  discussed  the  Italian  front,  and 
agreed  that  500  heavy  guns  lent  to  Italy  for  next  March 
should  enable  Cadorna  to  take  Trieste.  Petain  said  that 
we  had  not  sent  enough  guns  to  Italy  to  turn  the  balance, 
and  this  was  the  reason  why  Cadorna  has  suspended  his 
offensive.  Petain  said  that  he  had  visited  the  Americans 
and  thought  well  of  them,  but  that  the  1st  Division  was 
taking  five  months  to  train  in  France,  and  that  at  this 
rate  things  would  move  very  slowly.  He  was  interested 
in  Joffre's  views  about  them.  We  talked  of  other  matters 
till  late,  and  Petain  told  me  that  he  had  to  attend  a  War 
Council  in  the  morning,  but  would  leave  word  that  I  could 
see  anything  that  I  wanted  to  see  in  his  bureaux. 

Monday,  Oct.  8.  Put  up  last  night  with  Clive's  Mission. 
Went  round  early  to  see  Colonel  de  Cointet  of  the  second 
bureau,  whom  I  had  made  friends  with  at  Verdun  last  year. 
I  asked  him  to  give  me  a  rapid  sketch  of  the  situation  as 
he  saw  it.  He  said  that  the  situation  of  Germany  inter- 
nally, and  with  regard  to  supply  of  food  and  raw  material, 
promised  to  be  worse  next  year  than  this,  but  that  politically 
the  Junkers  had  taken  the  counter-offensive  and  were  now 
in  control.  There  had  been  some  acts  of  indiscipline  in- 
volving units  up  to  a  battalion  strong,  but  nothing  that 
could  be  called  a  mutiny  on  an  important  scale.  The 
Boches  had  5,600,000  men  mobilised  and  serving  in  the 

1  I  heard  afterwards  that  Poincare  had  replied,  '  Vous  plaisantez,  mon 
general.'     '  Mais  pas  du  tout,'  replied  Petain. 


1917]         THE  G.Q.G.  ON  THE  GERMANS  85 

aggregate.  Of  these  there  were  2,200,000  in  the  West, 
and  1,400,000  in  the  East,  where  strengths  were  not  main- 
tained. There  were  600,000  to  530,000  at  the  depots, 
including  380,000  of  the  1919  class.  The  balance  were 
Happen,  coast, and  other  garrison  and  administrative  troops. 
The  total  yearly  class  is  550,000,  but  only  450,000  are  fit  to 
serve,  and  exemptions  reduce  the  figure  to  380,000.  These 
men  and  the  wounded  are  all  that  Germany  has  to  keep 
up  her  strengths.  The  depots  have  never  been  so  weak. 
Only  the  barracks  were  occupied  bjr  them  now,  and  it  was 
known  from  agents  in  Germany  that  billets  and  other 
quarters  which  formerly  held  the  overflow  were  now  empty. 
The  Germans  had  now  148  divisions  in  the  West  and 
91  in  the  East.  Of  the  148  in  the  West,  54  had  been  taken 
out  of  the  line  for  repairs  since  April  last.  The  Germans 
had  38  divisions  in  reserve  in  the  West  ;  these  are  included 
in  the  148.  This  figure  appeared  large,  but  actually  it 
only  sufficed  for  local  needs.  There  were  39  divisions 
from  the  sea  to  the  British  right,  but  some  8  or  9  of  these 
faced  the  French  and  the  Belgians,  while  on  the  French 
front,  between  the  left  of  the  3rd  French  Army  and  Belfort, 
the  enemy  had  107  divisions.  The  German  Headquarters, 
which  had  been  at  Kreuznach  for  some  months,  now  arranged 
the  reinforcements  on  the  West  as  a  whole,  and  special 
reserves  in  Army  sectors  had  been  abolished.  De  Oointel 
say-  that  Haig  has  24  divisions  in  reserve,  and  evidently 
considers  that  we  are  'on  velvet'  in  comparison  with  the 
French.  He  Baid  nothing  of  all  the  many  Hun  divisions  on 
the  French  front  which  have  been  sent  to  fight  us,  but  as  1 
did  not  know  the  details  1  did  not  allude  to  them.1 

1  had  a  talk  with  ('live  and  the  officers  ot  hi*  Mi-sion. 
('live  i-  a  g(,od  man.  and  WoodrohV  is  a  hearty  fellow 
with  a  good  open  hoe.    They  say  that  if  the  War  office 

do  not   believe  in  JY-tain's  olTen.-ive.it   is  because  th'  vtni.-t 

1  Actual!  noun  division*  were  engaged  and  defeated  b 

loan  hall  chut  number  oi  Britiah  divisions  during  the  operations  of  krras, 
Me— inee,  Lena  ■  .  in   I'M',  ■    i    \|     Sir  D.   Baig      D 

i  25,   1917,  I'U    '-I . 


86  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

to  reports  other  than  those  from  the  Mission.  These 
officers  agree  that  our  attack  in  1918  should  be  co-ordinated 
with  that  of  the  French,  and  it  was  suggested  that  if  Haig 
and  Petain  could  not  agree,  Foch  and  Robertson  should 
be  called  in.  Clive  favours  Haig's  projects  in  the  North. 
He  says  that  if  we  are  to  win  with  the  French,  we  must 
win  in  1918,  because  the  French  will  not  be  able  to  go  on 
longer.  Clive  thought  that  Haig  and  Petain  were  like 
horse-copers,  one  of  whom  is  prepared  to  give  more  than 
he  offers,  and  the  other  to  accept  less  than  he  asks.  Clive 
says  that  it  is  all  a  question  of  how  much  we  are  all  pre- 
pared to  spend  in  casualties  next  year.  Petain  had  expended 
40,000  men  in  his  last  push  at  Verdun,  and  Clive  does  not 
place  a  French  class  now  at  over  140,000.  Clive  wants 
500,000  drafts  assured  to  enable  Haig  to  go  on. 

Motored  back  to  Paris.  Found  Mrs.  Astor  and  Lady 
Essex  just  arrived,  and  Mrs.  Leeds  and  Lady  Paget  coming 
to-morrow.  Dined  with  the  Comtesse  Jeanne  de  Salverte. 
She  was  very  gay  and  amusing,  but  we  did  not  talk  affairs 
at  all. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  9,  to  Thursday,  Oct.  11.  Motored  via  Provins 
and  Troyes,  170  miles,  to  Chaumont,  the  Headquarters  of 
the  American  Expeditionary  Force.  Went  into  a  book- 
seller's shop  at  Troyes  and  was  taken  for  a  Yankee.  '  Vous 
venez  nombreux,  Monsieur  ? '  he  asked  with  obvious 
anxiety.  'Quelques  millions,  Monsieur,'  I  replied  cheer- 
fully, and  never  saw  a  man  look  happier.  General 
Pershing's  General  Headquarters  are  established  in  a 
barrack  built  round  three  sides  of  a  quadrangle,  and 
they  are  convenient  for  the  present  scale  of  the  establish- 
ment, but  will  soon  prove  too  small.  Pershing  was  created 
a  General  yesterday.  He  is  only  the  fourth  American  general 
since  Washington,  the  other  three  having  been  Grant, 
Sheridan,  and  Sherman.  His  Staff  includes  Brig. -General  J. 
Harbord,  Chief  of  the  General  Staff,  a  cool  and  capable  man, 
self-possessed,  and  somewhat  like  the  late  Sir  Charles 
Douglas  ;  Brig. -General  B.  Alvord,  Adjutant-General,  a 
pleasant  man,  not  very  strong  looking,  and  rather  old  ; 


1917]      AT  PERSHING'S  HEADQUARTERS  87 

Brig. -General  Rogers,  Q.M.G. ;  Brig.-General  Bradley, 
head  of  the  Medical  Services,  a  clever  man  and  a  good 
doctor  ;  Major-General  Blatchford,  Commanding  General  of 
the  Line  of  Communications,  an  oldish  man  with  whiskers, 
and  his  troubles  with  the  French  seem  numerous.  The 
Chief  Signal  Officer  is  Brig.-General  Russell.  The  name 
of  the  Chief  of  Aviation  Service  is  Kenley,  of  the  Ordnance 
General  Williams,  and  the  J.A.G.  is  General  Bethell. 
Major  Robert  Bacon,  who  was  once  Secretary  of  State  and 
also  Ambassador  in  Paris,  is  serving  as  a  bonne  a  tout  fake  on 
the  Staff,  and  nominally  as  Commandant  at  Headquarters. 
A  pleasant  Captain  Patton  is  in  command  of  the  head- 
quarters' troop  of  cavalry,  and  I  think  of  a  company  of 
marines  also  here.  The  A.D.C.s,  or  aides  as  they  are 
called,  are  Captain  Boyd  who  seems  to  be  much  in  Persh- 
ing's confidence,  and  Captain  Shallenberger,  a  strong  hardy 
type.  There  is  a  large  French  Mission,  under  a  general, 
to  help  the  Americans  in  their  dealings  with  local  autho- 
rities of  all  kinds,  and  we  have,  or  rather  Haig  has,  a  liaison 
officer  with  Pershing,  namely,  Colonel  Cyril  Wagstaff,  a 
good  practical  man  and  a  typical  English  soldier,  who 
appears  to  me  to  carry  out  his  delicate  duties  with  great 
tact  and  good  sense,  and  to  make  himself  helpful  to  all. 
The  American  officers  are  constantly  seeking  his  advice. 
They  come  to  his  room  one  after  another  without  ceasing. 
They  know  very  little  of  practical  soldiering.  One  came 
in  one  day  while  I  was  in  Wagstaff's  room  and  said,  '  Say, 
Colonel,  when  you  have  to  move  troops  by  rail  what  do  yen 
do  ?  '  WagBtaff  had  to  explain  the  whole  process  from 
A  to  Z. 

The  pros.n1  Staff  is  merely  a  skeleton  of  what  it  will  be. 
There  are,  for  example,  only  four  officers  in  the  A.(;.'s 
Branch,  and  there  arc  to  be  80.  There  are  only  1000  doctors 
arrived  onl  of  20,000,  and  bo  on.  Pershing  and  bis  chief 
lieutenants  are  in  what  they  call  a  'formative'  slate,  thai 
is  to  -ayili.il  they  are  busy  building  up  an  organisation; 

Mid   never   having  done  anything  of  this  sort    before,  they 
are  trropingTtheir  way  about   in  the  dark,  and  are  searching 


88  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

for  models  in  our  Army  and  the  French.  The  H.Q.  Staff 
is  at  present  out  of  touch  with  the  American  troops,  namely, 
the  1st,  26th,  and  another  division  now  arriving,  and  it 
will  be  the  divisional  commanders,  for  some  little  time, 
who  will  have  to  pan  out  for  themselves.  General  Sibert's 
1st  Division,  largely  Regular  with  20  per  cent,  of  old  soldiers, 
is  at  Gondrecourt,  some  two  hours  distant  by  motor.  The 
26th  is  arriving  at  Neuf chateau,  also  some  way  off,  and  the 
Staff  is  at  present  too  busy  puzzling  out  and  creating  the 
organisation  to  be  much  with  the  troops.  All  the  big 
ships,  owing  to  their  draught,  have  to  go  to  Liverpool, 
where  they  break  bulk  and  the  men  come  on  by  Southampton 
and  Havre.  The  last  arrived  division  lost  all  its  belongings 
on  the  way,  and  10,000  of  them  reached  Neuf  chateau 
before  their  divisional  commander  and  his  staff,  with 
only  their  personal  effects,  and  without  anything  else, 
not  even  doctors  or  rations  or  bedding  or  cooking  utensils. 
General  Bradley  said  to  me  that  it  was  '  worse  than  in  1898  ' 
— the  war  with  Spain. 

I  do  not  think  that  the  American  Staff  realises,  as  it  will 
later,  that  it  is  the  servant  and  minister  of  the  troops. 
It  is  impossible  to  admit  the  system  which  makes  the 
Chief  of  Staff  and  his  secretary  the  narrow  neck  of  the 
bottle  through  which  all  papers  reach  Pershing.  It  is  our 
old  '  Chief  Staff  Officer  '  system,  and  instead  of  the  Chief 
of  the  Staff  dealing  only  with  Operations,  Intelligence, 
and  Training,  as  he  does  with  us,  he  is  here  the  intermediary 
between  some  17  American  departments  and  the  general, 
and  these  17  branches  are  not  grouped  under  group  com- 
manders, so  that  Pershing  and  Harbord  have  an  intolerable 
number  of  people  to  see,  and  an  overwhelming  mass  of 
administrative  matters  to  attend  to  apart  from  all  their 
difficulties  with  the  French.  The  Americans  do  not  yet 
understand  what  a  General  Staff  means.  It  has  been 
ignored  or  snubbed  in  the  past,  and,  having  become  academic, 
it  stands  apart  from  the  troops  and  is  not,  Pershing  says, 
too  popular  with  them.  Though  we  send  Americans  all 
our  Intelligence  reports,  not  one  has  yet  reached  the  1st 


1917]       SITUATION  OF  THE  AMERICANS  8q 

Division,  and  the  divisions  know  little  or  nothing  of  what 
is  going  on.  What  is  needed  is  to  group  all  the  Staffs  under 
a  few  chief  men,  for  the  latter  alone  to  see  Pershing,  to 
take  responsibility  on  their  own  shoulders,  and  to  leave 
Pershing  more  free  to  exercise  command  and  have  leisure 
to  follow  the  operations  and  then  to  direct  them.  I  hope 
that  this  may  come  later,  but  it  has  not  come  yet. 

The  American  Army  have  always  been  much  scattered, 
and  are  not  well  known  to  each  other  unless  they  happen 
to  have  served  together  in  the  same  regiment  or  post. 
They  have  no  common  doctrine  of  any  kind.  They  are 
taken  aback  by  the  immensity  of  the  problem  before  them, 
and  find  themselves  in  a  child's  suit  among  Allies  com- 
pletely armed  in  mail.  They  are  largely  ignorant  of  the 
practical  side  of  soldiering,  and  whatever  they  do  they 
find  before  them  a  French  wall  of  difficulties  which  they 
have  to  get  over,  under,  or  round.  They  have  no  control 
over  railways  or  any  part  of  the  country.  If  they  want 
to  build  a  hospital  the  indent  for  the  ground  has  to  go  to 
Compiegne,  and  then  the  engineers  have  long  discussions 
with  the  French  Mission  and  French  public  departments 
how  the  building  material  is  to  be  obtained,  where  the 
wood  is  to  be  cut,  and  how  it  is  to  be  brought  up.  All 
this  takes  time.  Besides,  each  American  Department 
sch«-me  has  to  be  argued  like  a  legal  case  with  the  other 
sixteen  departments  before  Pershing  can  settle  it,  and,  in  fact, 
the  peace  system  of  an  out-of-date  Army  is  being  subjected 
to  the  terrific  strain  of  a  great  war.  The  men  even  bring 
their  kit  boxes  and  beds  from  America,  but  this  can  hardly 
continue.  All  the  same,  the  West  Point  officers  are  very 
good,  all  the  departments  are  filled  with  keen,  intelli- 
gent, and  zealous  men,  and  I  feel  confident  that  all 
these  difficulties  born  of  inexperience  will  be  overcome 
if  time  allows.  They  would  be  overcome  quicker  would 
the  Americans  ask  us  frankly  to  help  them  more,  but 
Wagstafi  and  all  our  people  wait  until  they  are  con- 
sulted, and  rightly,  and  bo  things  are  going  very  slowly. 

V,  one   ID   this    world    learn.-    from   the  |experience   of  any- 


9o  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

body  else.     It  will  not  do  to  try  and  force  things  on  the 
Americans. 

The  Americans  are  enormously  impressed  by  our  Army 
and  its  operations.  Many  have  gone  up  there  to  see  the 
fighting  and  have  returned  full  of  enthusiasm  and  admira- 
tion. They  begin  to  realise  that  instead  of  dislike  or 
jealousy  we  all  feel  a  deep  and  semi-paternal  pride  in  them 
and  are  longing  to  help  them.  But  we  fear  that  they  may 
mistake  our  feelings  for  condescension.  So  we  take  no 
initiative.  They  attend  all  our  schools  and  special  courses, 
some  American  officers  insisting  upon  going  through  as 
privates,  as  Colonel  McAndrew  did  in  our  2nd  Army  bomb- 
ing school,  and  then  the  officers  who  are  thus  instructed 
conduct  divisional  schools  of  their  own  in  the  A.E.F.,  and 
here  are  formed  instructors  for  the  coming  American  Army 
schools  in  all  the  different  specialities.  These  will  prob- 
ably be  at  Langres.  In  general,  they  are  taking  the 
French  regulations  for  the  battery  and  battalion,  since 
the  French  are  training  them,  but  our  system  for  all  larger 
units,  for  the  General  Staff  system  so  far  as  theory  is  con- 
cerned, and  for  all  schools.  The  language  link  is  too  solid 
to  be  broken  in  a  time  of  stress.  The  Intelligence  system 
has  been  taken  word  for  word  from  our  organisation,  but, 
of  course,  this  is  not  the  same  thing  while  Pershing  acts 
as  a  sort  of  Secretary  of  State.  Colonel  Walker  has  Opera- 
tions, with  Colonel  Fox  Conner  as  an  efficient  second ; 
Colonel  Nolan  has  Intelligence,  and  he  appeals  to  me ; 
Colonel  Malone,  Training ;  and  Colonel  W.  Conner  the  Co- 
ordination Branch.  Intelligence,  under  Nolan  and  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Conger,  is  divided  up  precisely  as  with  us.  All 
these  General  Staff  organs  are  already  at  work  in  embryonic 
form,  and  I  went  round  them.  They  have  but  to  grow  to  be 
all  right,  but  the  character  of  the  American  Staff  College 
training  has  been  academic,  and  faults  will  persist  until 
the  General  Staff  have  a  more  proper  and  assured  position, 
are  kept  in  closer  contact  with  the  troops,  and  Brig. -General 
Harbord  ceases  to  be  also  an  intermediary  between  Pershing 
and  all  the  administrative   branches.     At  my  suggestion 


1917]  THE  OCEAN  PASSAGE  91 

Harbord  rode  over  to  the  French  Mission  and  asked  for  a 
copy  of  Petain's  citation  of  the  2nd  Army  Staff.  It  will 
explain  to  the  Americans  what  a  General  Staff  of  an  Army 
has  to  do  in  war.  At  present  all  is  much  too  amateurish 
for  the  Army  to  be  trusted  in  operations,  and  Pershing's 
mind  is  not  free  enough  for  the  business.  Joffre  was  right 
in  his  doubt  on  this  point,  and  Pershing,  in  plainly  hinting 
to  me  that  little  could  be  effected  until  late  in  the  summer 
of  191s,  seemed  to  me  to  have  a  correct  perception  of  his 
weaknesses.  It  would  be  folly,  if  not  murder,  to  hurry 
him  into  the  fighting  line,  good  though  I  think  his  regular 
men  and  officers  are  individually. 

General  Pershing  put  me  up  at  his  house,  and  I  dined  with 
him  and  eight  of  his  chief  officers,  including  Robert  Bacon, 
who  is  an  attractive  figure.  I  sat  next  to  Pershing.  There 
was  1  -nly  water  to  drink,  but  the  Chaumont  water  is  first-rate. 
Pershing  told  me  that  tonnage  was  his  principal  anxiety,  and 
In-  is  far  from  assured  about  the  submarines,  feeling  uncertain 
whether  the  U-boats  are  sparing  him  by  order.  He  tells 
me  that  from  7  to  8  tons  a  man  are  needed  for  the  Atlantic 
passage,  including  everything  belonging  to  the  divisions. 
The  first  circular  trip  of  the  transports  took  55  days,  but 
this  has  now  fallen  to  41.  The  time  taken  for  the  actual 
ge  in  convoy  is  13  days.  With  these  data  any  one  can 
Calculate  the  useful  output  of  400,000  tons  gross  of  shipping, 
and  this  output  is  evidently  quite  inadequate,  but  Pershing 
hope-  that  the  tonnage  will  much  increase  by  March  next. 
I  suggested  thai  Japan  should  be  asked  for  400,000  tons, 
which  she  can  spare,  and  on  returning  to  Paris  found  that 
this  had  been  arranged,  but  apparently  only  for  ships  to 
be  built,  which  is  quite  a  different  thing. 

The  Americans  have  16  camps  in  the  U.S.  with  32  divi- 
sion-, and  other  divisions  form  as  divisions  come  across. 
There  are  1,500,000  men  in  training.  The  troops  bi  Ing  every- 
thing with  them  to  Europe  except  the  guns  which  are  being 
made  by  oi  and  the  French,  and  only  draw  upon  th<  French 
for  eggc  and  fresh  vegetable  .  Even  the  milk  cornea  Erom 
America  in  tins,  and  the  meat  i  frozen  oi  tinned,  [found 
ii.  ii 


92  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

that  I  had  been  misinformed  on  this  matter.  There  is  no 
doubt  about  it,  for  I  inspected  the  white  flour,  saw  the 
American  frozen  meat  and  its  labels  in  the  cook-houses, 
and  had  opened  for  me  the  iron  rations  and  tinned  milk. 
The  flour  makes  the  best  white  bread  that  I  have  eaten 
for  many  months.  The  French  are  certainly  not  feeding 
these  Americans,  who  are  trying  to  build  up  a  reserve  of 
food.  I  do  not  feel  sure  that  the  promised  French  guns  will 
come  along,  and  I  gave  Colonel  Nolan  a  warning  to  watch 
the  construction,  and  he  promised  that  he  would.  He  says 
that  if  the  French  monthly  surplus  output  of  75's  is  300 
guns  only,  as  I  was  told  by  Fagalde,  it  will  not  be  enough. 
Pershing  hinted  to  me  that  he  did  not  expect  to  have  a 
serious  Army  for  offensive  operations  before  the  autumn  of 
1918,  and  I  doubt  that  he  means  to  go  into  the  line  before 
he  has  12  to  20  divisions  ready  and  trained.  I  am  not 
sure  whether  it  is  understood  that  units  must  go  into  the 
line  to  train.  He  tells  me  that  he  is  not  taking  over  French 
railways  because  these  supply  certain  French  districts,  a 
task  which  he  cannot  assume,  but  he  is  bringing  over  engines, 
rolling  stock,  and  rails  for  sidings,  and  will  lay  his  own  light 
lines  in  advance  of  his  railheads  when  he  comes  into  the  line. 
At  present  his  troop-trains  take  three  days  to  arrive  from  St. 
Nazaire  instead  of  the  ten  hours  that  they  would  take  over 
the  same  distance  in  America. 

Pershing  laid  stress  upon  the  fact  that  the  whole  of  his 
organisation  had  been  entirely  created  here  since  the 
arrival  in  June  last,  on  the  13th  I  think  it  was.  I  did 
not  ask  him  where  he  proposed  to  take  over  a  part  of 
the  line  as  I  learnt  from  his  officers  that  he  was  keeping 
an  open  mind  about  it,  and  his  A.G.  told  me  that  the 
reinforcement  troops  would  be  so  placed  that  they  could 
come  towards  us  if  Pershing  decided  to  take  over  the  line 
nearer  to  us.  1  think  that  the  majority  at  least  want  to 
be  alongside  of  us.1     Before  they  arrived  they  all  thought 

1  This  question  was  ultimately  decided  by  the  trace  of  the  French 
railway  system  and  the  necessity  for  good  communications  from  the 
coastal  bases  to  the  Army  at  the  front. 


1917]    PERSHING  ON  A  GENERALISSIME       93 

that  the  French  had  been  doing  all  the  fighting,  and  our 
Army  is  a  complete  revelation  to  them.    The  point  which 

I  made  with  the  Stall'  and  with  Bacon,  with  whom  1  had 
long  talks,  was  that  from  all  I  saw  and  heard,  the  Americans 
would  not  be  able  to  do  anything  serious  before  next  autumn, 
or  anything  big  before  1 919 ;  t  hat ,  in  the  interval,  t  he  French 
might  become  automatically  so  reduced  as  to  be  incapable  of 
a  great  offensive  ;  and  that,  therefore,  we  and  the  Americans 
must  then  make  the  great  effort  together,  and  so  must  be 
in  a  posture  to  co-operate,  and  not  too  far  distant  from  each 
other  for  such  purpose.  I  found  a  strong  approval  of  this 
point  of  view,  and,  generally  speaking,  a  steady  increase  of 
the  pro-English  sentiment.  But  surtout  point  de  zele  is  a 
good  maxim  for  our  dealings  with  the  Americans. 

I  had  a  good  talk  with  Pershing  about  Jo  fire's  ideas  of 
an  Inter-Allied  Staff  and  about  Petahvs  views  of  a  commission 
of  studies.  Pershing  realises  fully  the  German  advantage 
in  this  matter,  and  then'  is  this  further  difficulty,  namely, 
that  President  Wilson  is  still  attempting  to  keep  up  a  show 
of  independence  of  the  Allies  in  his  Army,  and  I  believe — 
without  being  certain — that  Pershing  is  not  supposed  to 
join  inter-Allied  military  conferences,  even  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  next  year's  campaign  !  But  after  we  had  talked  all 
round  the  ideas  of  Joffre  and  Petain,  we  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  nothing  but  omnipotence  would  serve  in  the 
Higher  Command  of  the  Allies,  and  that  this  could  not  be 
secured, since  no  Army  was  prepared  to  accept  a  subordinate 
on,  and  even  if  it  did,  its  Government  would  not  do  so. 
go  on  as  we  are,  and  trust  to  commonsense  and 
the  i.i<  i  ;ind  experience  of  the  Allied  generals  to  keep  things 
straight  in  I  he  field. 

era)  Pei  bing  inspires  me  with  complete  confidence. 

II  Staff  told  me  thai  in  his  talk  with  me,  prolonged 
until  Lite  in  the  night,  In-  had  been  more  drawn  out, 
had  covered  more  ground,  and  had  Bpoken  more,  and 
more  freely,  than  on  any  previous  occasion.  lie  is 
naturally  reserved,  but  frank,  clear-headed,  wise,  uncom- 
monly determined,  and  with  an  obvious  intention  of  not 


94  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

allowing  himself  to  be  rushed  into  any  folly  by  anybody. 
I  am  not  sure  whether  he  is  always  invited  to  the  Confer- 
ences about  the  Western  front,  and  am  sure  that  it  is  a 
great  fault  if  he  is  not. 

One  of  his  anxieties  is  about  the  General  Staff  at  Washing- 
ton and  the  advice  which  the  President  may  receive  from 
officers  who  have  no  experience  of  the  real  conditions  here. 
General  Biddle  has  gone  from  France  to  the  U.S.  to  be 
assistant  to  General  Bliss,  the  Chief  of  Staff  at  Washington, 
but  Pershing  thinks  that  this  is  not  enough.  I  suggested 
that  the  President  should  choose  his  own  men,  send  them 
out  here  to  serve  under  Pershing  in  the  General  Staff  branches 
for  six  months,  and  then  let  them  return.  Then  the  Presi- 
dent could  reconstitute  his  Staff  with  men  who  knew,  as  we 
had  done  in  London.  Pershing  agreed  that  no  one  could 
visualise  the  war  who  had  not  seen  it,  and  that  even  joy- 
riding was  not  enough.  Men  must  be  brought  into  harsh 
contact  with  practical  realities.  We  discussed  German 
plans  and  effectives  ;  the  transfer  of  German  troops  from 
East  to  West  this  winter — a  matter  in  which  Pershing 
adopts  Maurice's  moderate  view — the  question  of  French 
effectives  and  waste,  and  a  dozen  other  subjects.  I  was  to 
have  had  another  talk  with  Pershing  on  the  evening  of  the 
10th  on  my  return  from  the  Gondrecourt  camp,  but  the 
American  Ambassador  had  called  him  to  Paris.  I  think 
that  Pershing's  chief  anxiety  is  also  mine,  namely,  who  is 
handling,  as  a  whole,  the  mighty  Staff  problem  before 
America.  It  appears  to  be  done  in  compartments  without 
assured  communications,  and  both  Pershing  and  his  Staff 
thought  this  a  weakness,  and  were  anxious  about  it,  and 
did  not  fully  know  how  the  machine  at  home  worked. 

I  lunched  with  General  Sibert  at  Gondrecourt  on  the  10th, 
and  went  round  his  troops,  schools,  billets,  and  huts.  Sibert 
is  a  good  man  and  has  a  good  Staff,  but  he  is  without  military 
experience.  He  tells  me  that  the  divisions  will  have  48 
French  75's  and  24  6-inch  howitzers  each.  There  are  also 
12-inch  and  10-inch  howitzers  coming  from  America,  but 
Sibert  thought,  with  me,  that  his  artillery  problem  was  his 


1917]  THE  AMERICAN  TROOPS  05 

greatest,  and  viewed  with  some  anxiety  the  moment  when 
his  divisional  artillery  commander  might  have  to  handle  some 
200  guns  allotted  to  him  for  a  grand  attack.  I  suggested 
the  loan  of  a  Frenchman  for  the  job,  but  Sibert  did  not  jump 
at  the  idea.  The  look  of  the  troops  was  good.  A  nice  lot 
of  keen,  upstanding,  young  men,  and  all  very  serious  and 
determined  to  do  a  big  thing.  The  uniforms  are  much  too 
tight.  The  explanation  is  that  the  men  have  filled  out 
since  joining,  but  I  expect  that  it  is  a  '  dandy  '  touch,  and 
that  the  men  have  had  their  uniforms  taken  in  to  fit  like 
gloves.  The  light  canvas  gaiters  will  not  stand  the  mud, 
and  I  like  the  boots  less  than  ours.  I  saw  some  good  horses 
and  interesting  types  of  saddlery.  The  mounted  officers 
whom  I  saw  rode  beautifully,  but  no  cavalry  are  coming 
here  yet,  and  the  cavalry  officers  are  joining  other  arms. 
The  large  effectives  of  the  American  coast  artillery  will  help 
orach  with  the  heavies  when  they  come  along.  There  will 
be  16  machine  guns  per  company,  and  the  specialists,  of 
whom  there  were  none  at  first,  are  being  formed.  The 
organisation,  even  of  the  infantry  battalion,  is  not  yet 
completely  settled.  1  saw  some  huts  in  a  state  of  great 
disorder  which  would  never  be  tolerated  with  us.  All  the 
beds  urn-  down  and  the  kits  just  anyhow.  The  billets  in 
barns,  etc.,  were  a  little  better,  but  there  are  no  wash-houses 

organised,  nor  baths,  nor  arrangements  for  cleaning 
and  refreshing  uniforms.  They  still  think  that  by  ordering 
1000  pairs  of  gum  boots  from  America  they  meet  the  needs 
of  1000  men  in  the  trenches,  oblivious  of  the  fad  that  2000 

needed  for  every  L000  men  in  the  trenches  bo  that  one 
lot  of  gum  hoot-  may  !><•  dried  inside  while  the  others  are 

rVinu  u  1  d.     Practical  needs  will  only  be  learnt  by  practical 

erienoe,  and  the  baths  will  begin  when  the  men  become 
lousy,  as  ours  did.     1  did  oof  care  for  the  American  pack. 

I  -pcrit  my  last  morning  of  the  I lth  going  round  the 
other  headquarter  office  at  Ghaumont.  I  am  uot  sure 
that    the   Americane    understand   then-  own   organisation, 

for   Colonel     lime      of    the    A.G.'l    Branch  told    me   that    the 

A  1 1  bead  of  all  the  administrative   ervices,  bul  some 


96  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

of  them  denied  the  fact  stoutly  when  I  went  to  see  them, 
and  called  themselves  separate  departments.     The  health 
of  the  troops  is  very  good,  only  one  per  cent,  of  sick.     The 
medical  arrangements  ought  to  be  good,  as  they  have  the 
pick  of  all  the  doctors  and  dentists  of  America,  but  the 
hospitals   and  other   buildings   are   only   coming   on   very 
slowly.     I  had  a  good  talk  with  Bacon  before  leaving.     He 
is  politically  opposed  to  President  Wilson,  and  is  concerned 
with  the  thought  that  one  false  note  struck  by  the  President 
may  ruin  the  cause.     But  he  admits  that  both  in  what  he 
has  said  and  done  since  he  joined  in  the  war,  and  in  what 
he  has  not  said  and  done,  the  President  has  been  admir- 
able.    Bacon    believes    that    he    was    sincerely    pacificist, 
and  did  his  utmost  to  keep  out  of  it,  but  now  that  he  is 
in  it  he  is  in  it  heart  and  soul  and  is  a  fighter.     Bacon,  how- 
ever, believes  that  the  President  never  contemplated  all 
that  it  would  mean,  and  may  have  hoped  that  a  show  of 
force   would  be  enough.     Pershing's   original  orders  may 
have  been  coloured  by  these  ideas.     Bacon  himself  is  the 
bitterest  anti-German  imaginable,  is  devoted  to  the  cause, 
and  should  be  a  most  valuable  asset  at  the  Headquarters, 
from  all  points  of  view.     He  says  that  the  Americans  in 
France  are   quickly  learning   how  false  were  their  views 
about  the  English,   and  what  a  revelation  the  strength, 
equipment,  spirit,  and  discipline  of  our  Armies  have  been 
to  them.     Every  officer  and  man  who  visits  our  front  or 
our  schools  comes  back  an  enthusiast  about  us,  and  all 
begin  to  feel  that  had  England  and  America  been  united, 
this    war    would    never    have    been.     The    experiences    of 
these  three  days  require  a  good  deal  of  reflection.     I  think 
that  much  time  will  be  needed  before  the  American  Army 
will  be  fit  for  offensive  war  if  the  Germans  maintain  their 
spirit,  but,  given  time,  the  enthusiasm,  virility,  and  com- 
petence of  all  ranks,   and  the  vast  forces  behind  them, 
both  moral  and  material,   must  overcome  all  difficulties, 
and  if  I  return  here  in  the  spring  I  shall  expect  to  see  an 
immense  improvement  on  all  sides.     Motored  to  Domremy 
to  see  Joan  of  Arc's  house  and  the  Chapel.     Sunset  on 


1917]  AT  R.F.C.  EEADQUARTERS  97 

the  river  and  the  hills.  America  was  not  thought  of  in 
those  far-off  days.  Motored  back  to  Paris.  Very  dark 
in  the  woods  in  the  last  stages,  but  stars  good  for  steering. 
Dined  in  my  own  rooms. 

Friday,  October   1_.     Wrote  most  of  the  day.     Lunched 

with  tin-   Comtesse  de  S.  at   Henry's,  and   saw    Boni    de 

Castellane  there.     Had  a  good  talk  with   Mrs.   Leeds   and 

Lady    Minnie   at    tea,  and   dined   with    Mrs.    Astor,   Lady 

\.  and  Mr.  Berry  at  the  Kit/.. 

Saturday,  Oct.  13.  Left  Paris,  9.10  a.m.,  for  Amiens. 
Thence  by  car  to  the  R.F.C.  Headquarters,  near  St.  Omer, 
for  a  talk  with  Trenchard.  Two  bombs  outside  his  gates, 
intended  fur  the  aerodrome  near  by.  The  Huns  are  giving 
all  our  back-areas  a  good  bombing  just  now,  by  day  and 
night.  .St.  Omer  has  been  specially  favoured.  Trenchard 
well  satisfied  with  the  air  changes  in  London  announced 
to-day  by  wireless,  Salmond  taking  David  Henderson's 
place.  Trenchard  hopes  to  be  fully  ready  by  April  next. 
He  had  a  very  hard  time  in  April  last,  and  again  six  weeks 
ago,  but  i-  rather  happier  now  in  spite  of  the  Hun  con- 
<  filtration  against  us.  Yesterdaj'  we  had  a  bad  day,  losing 
ten  machines.  The  weather  was  awful;  the  troops  could 
not  get  further  than  their  first  objectives,  and  '  the  birds ' 
had  a  bid  time  of  it  too.  It  was  not  the  Boches  but  the 
m t  and  the  horrible  ground  that  stopped  us.  T.  is 
satisfied  that  our  various  types  are  as  good  as  the  Boche 
types,  everything  considered.  Hut  until  begets  his  long- 
range  bombing  squadrons  he  is  not  going  to  alter  his 
offensive  battlefield  tactics,  and,  moreover,  In-  says  that 
bombing  the  German  towns  will  not  stop  the  Huns  from 
i", mi, in-  London.  lb-  trusts  t<>  the  hard  resolute  offensive 
•  the  Germans  and  their  aerodromes  in  our  Belgian 
front,  and  will  not  alter  In-  tactics  until  tin'  present  opera 

tion-    are    BUSpendecL      lb'  thinks    that    bombing    will   goon 

with  increasing  severity  till  the  <'nd  of  the  war,  and  thai 
London  uill  not  be  spared.  I'm  if  we  win  in  Flanders  we 
■hall  | >ut  ih<-  Hun  back  i  long  waj  and  make  it  more 
difficult   for  him      I   believe  thai    Trenohard   is  right  and 


98  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

should  be  supported.  His  views  are  those  of  our  G.S.  at 
home. 

Motored  to  Radinghem  Chateau,  maintained  for  American 
and  other  visitors.  Major  Norie  in  charge  ;  also  there 
Lionel  St.  Aubyn,  60th  ;  Hannay,  Coldstream s  ;  and  another, 
as  conducting  officers.  General  Sir  William  Manning, 
Governor  of  Jamaica,  also  of  the  party.  He  has  come  over 
to  look  after  his  West  India  troops,  who  are  doing  finely 
in  bringing  up  the  shells  to  the  heavy  guns,  but  are  going 
down  fast  in  this  cold  wet  weather,  which  they  cannot 
stand.  M.  says  that  Jamaica  is  very  patriotic,  and  that 
his  blacks  are  fatalists  and  good  fighters.  A  lot  of  Chinese 
about.  They  do  well  on  the  roads.  Many  are  at  Dunkirk, 
where  the  Hun  bombers  have  done  a  lot  of  harm.  The 
Chinese  shin  up  the  trees  when  the  bombs  come,  to  be  out 
of  the  way.  Jack  St.  Aubyn  is  our  commandant  there. 
I  am  told  that  the  British  officers  with  the  Chinese  gradually 
come  to  resemble  the  Chinamen  and  assume  their  inscrut- 
able demeanour  !  Boche  prisoners  working  all  along  the 
road.     They  looked  well ;   quite  a  fine  lot  of  men. 

Sunday,  Oct.  14.  Motored  to  Advanced  G.H.Q.  to 
have  lunch  and  a  talk  with  Charteris,  the  head  of  Haig's 
Intelligence.  I  find  that  he  is  strongly  set  upon  continu- 
ing the  Flanders  offensive  next  year,  and  is  most  optimistic 
as  usual.  He  has  great  ideas  of  the  hurt  that  we  have 
caused  the  Huns,  and  the  number  of  divisions  which 
we  have  '  exhausted  '  as  he  terms  it.  I  doubt  whether 
they  are  much  more  exhausted  than  those  which  we  take 
out  of  our  own  fine  after  an  attack.  He  believes  that 
we  can  gain  our  present  objectives,  and  next  spring  clear 
up  to  Ghent,  and  then  be  on  the  flank  of  the  German  line. 
So  we  should  be,  but  on  the  wrong  flank  strategically. 
I  was  given  papers  to  show  all  the  Hun  divisions  drawn 
from  the  French  front  to  oppose  us,  and  assuming  these 
to  be  correct,  it  would  appear  that  we  have  been  fighting 
most  of  the  Western  Germans,  and  the  best  of  them,  this 
year.  I  told  C.  the  figures  that  Petain  and  his  officers 
had  given  to  me.     Neither  C.  nor  Major  Cornwall  disputed 


1917]    PLUMER  ON  FLANDERS  FIGHTING        99 

them  seriously,   but    1   suggested  that   0.   would  do  well  to 
be  in  a  position  to  present  hi-  own  analysis  of  the  figures. 

Motored  on  to  Cassel  and  found  Plumer.  We  had  a 
high  tea  with  him  and  his  personal  Staff  and  Harington. 
Plumer  very  happy  about  his  successes.  His  day  of  the 
12th  could  not  be  put  through  because  the  ground  was 
impossible  owing  to  the  weather.  So  he  is  going  to  hold 
the  thing  up  for  ten  days  until  he  can  complete  his  com- 
munications again.  At  present  some  of  his  light  railways 
are  bodily  embedded  in  the  mud  up  to  the  top  of  the  little 
locomotives  ;  the  whole  railway  has  subsided  into  the 
morass,  and  until  he  can  get  Ms  ammunition  up  he  cannot 
get  on.  It  is  a  race  against  time,  as  the  season  grows  so 
late.  He  wants  to  take  Passchendaele,  and  Gough  West- 
roosebeck,  while  there  are  a  couple  of  other  points  east 
and  south-east  of  the  ridge  which  the  Huns  must  be 
turned  out  of  to  make  a  clean  job  of  it.  I  found  Plumer 
heart  and  soul  for  the  Flanders  offensive.  I  asked  him 
whether  he  was  thinking  of  his  present  tactical  objectives, 
or  whether  he  had  in  his  mind  the  strategy  of  next  year 
and  its  possibilities.  He  said  that  he  had  both,  and  had 
fully  considered  the  future  possibilities.  But  I  think 
that  he  nears  the  end  of  his  tether  for  this  year,  as  ho 
admits  that  he  has  nearly  come  to  the  end  of  the  troops 
liable  for  his  operation,  and  that  he  must  soon  think 
of  resting  them  and  beginning  the  winter  training.  The 
Huns  have  700  guns  against  him,  and  1300  on  the  whole 
front  vrhiohweand  the  French,  under  Anthome,  are  attack- 
ing. The  Huns  -till  fighl  well,  and  Plumer  is  rather  sarcastic 
about  Charteris'fl  optimism.  I  fear  that  Godley  lost  40 
i.   of   hi-   f loops   which    were  engaged  on  the   12th. 

Tin-,  trere  brigades  of  hi-  Anzac  Dorps,  and  machine  guns 
<h<l  the  damage.  Oui  losses  in  these  operations  '  have  been 
\'-iy  h'-uvy.  \\ '■  are  only  on  the  edge  of  the  real  Low 
Country  positions,  but  our  people  now  begin  to  understand 

iiilii'     in  lulled,  wounded)  end  miming  from  Julj  .'il,  after 
D      mber  31,  1917,  were   100,000  all  renin  In  the  Planden 


ioo  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

what  they  are.  We  discussed  the  question  of  cancelling 
attacks  owing  to  bad  weather  when  the  troops  are  in  posi- 
tion, and  I  find  that  it  is  difficult  unless  done  between  five  and 
seven  overnight.  Plumer  has  a  man  who  is  called  '  Meteor,' 
who  watches  the  weather  for  him  and  is  rather  good.  Not 
much  chance  of  a  talk  with  Harington,  but  he  told  me 
that  they  meant  to  have  Passchendaele.  Plumer  wants 
captains  of  25,  brigadiers  of  30,  divisional  commanders 
of  45  to  50,  and  men  of  experience  for  Corps  and 
Armies. 

On  the  way  in  the  morning  I  looked  in  for  a  chat  with 
Home,  commanding  the  1st  Army.  He  is  still  in  the  same 
chateau  as  in  April,  namely  Ranchicourt,  and  his  Staff  is 
unchanged,  but  he  gets  part-worn  divisions  from  the  fight 
and  has  to  give  up  his  best.  The  Canadians  are  just  leaving 
for  the  north,  to  his  vexation  and  to  theirs,  as  they  had  set 
their  heart  on  Lens  and  had  settled  themselves  down  com- 
fortably for  the  winter.  We  saw  an  excellent  raised  model 
of  Lens  and  the  positions  round  it.  Home  thinks  that 
there  are  very  few  Germans  in  Lens, — indeed  he  thought 
only  a  few  companies — but  it  is  useless  to  occupy  the  town 
until  the  Huns  are  driven  from  the  low  hills  to  the  S.E.  of 
Lens — this  will  be  Home's  next  operation  when  he  can  get 
the  guns,  and  possibly  in  the  winter.  The  French  are  said 
to  be  getting  coal  from  the  Lens  mine  1 600  feet  down  ! 
Slept  at  Radinghem  again  in  the  ghost  room. 

Monday,  Oct.  15.  Motored  to  G.H.Q.  at  Blendecques, 
near  St.  Omer.  I  saAv  Sassoon  first.  He  was  in  a  quaint 
little  hut  in  the  garden,  small  and  chilly,  but  an  electric 
radiator  was  installed.  I  asked  what  had  been  the  result 
of  the  visit  of  Painleve  and  Foch  to  London.  Sassoon  said 
that  nobody  at  G.H.Q.  knew,  but  that  after  the  last  Boulogne 
Conference  on  September  25,  where  Painleve  told  me  the 
principle  of  the  extension  of  the  British  Front  had  been 
accepted,  L.  G.  and  Robertson  had  come  to  G.H.Q.  and 
Haig  had  told  them  fully  his  objections  to  our  taking  over 
any  more  of  the  French  line  ;  but  neither  L.  G.  nor  R.  had 
said  anything  to  show  Haig  that  the  principle  of  taking  over 


1917]  HARTS  VIEWS  ioi 

more  of  the  French  front  had  been  adopted,  and  Bassoon 
deplored  what  Beemed  a  want  of  frankness.  Then  later, 
said  Sassoon,  there  oame  a  Letter  from  the  War  Office,  stating 
the  fact  that  the  principle  had  been  accepted,  but  giving 
no  other  explanation-,  and  none  had  been  given  since. 
Derby  had  asked  Haig  to  come  over,  but  Haig  could  not  go 
during  the  battle,  and  had  offered  to  come  next  Wednesday, 
but  Derby  had  then  replied  that  they  would  not  press  him 
to  come  as  they  knew  his  views.  1  said  that  possibly,  at 
the  time  of  L.  G.'s  visit  ,  silence  was  imposed  until  the  Cabinet 
had  made  a  decision.  I  suggested  that  there  must  be  some 
misunderstanding  since,  to  my  personal  knowledge,  Robert- 
son had  invariably  supported  Haig  heart  and  soul. 

I  then  went  in  to  Haig  and  we  discussed  the  resulting 
situation.  1  told  Haig  of  Petain's  difficulties  and  Painleve's 
desires.  1  found  Haig  as  firmly  set  upon  the  Flanders 
offensive  as  possible.  He  does  not  believe  that  the  French 
i  an  or  will  attack,  and  so  does  not  see  why  he  should  change 
his  plan  to  please  the  French.  He  cannot  take  over  the 
Eroni  named  by  Petain  without  so  weakening  himself  that 
he  will  be  unable  to  attack.  If  he  goes  south  to  co-operate 
with  Petain.  the  Huns  will  give  way  as  t  hey  have  done  before 

I  leave  oc  stranded.  Whereas,  Haig  thinks,  in  Flanders 
the  Hun-  oannol  Lr<>  back  without  letting  go  their  hold  on 
the  Belgian  coast,  and  therefore  here  they  must  fight.  Haig 
will,  therefore,  nol  compromise,  and  does  not  know  what  the 

isional  Boulogne  means,  nor  what  it  will  entail,  nor  why 
he  was  not  called  in.     He  has  been  told  nothing  by  Robert- 
Saig  likes   Petain   very  much,  but   thinks  thai   the 
politicians  dominate  the  soldiers  in  Prance. 

We  had  Lunch  and  banaliUa:  the  l\.M  .  Eiggell,  Byng, 

Butler,  Fletcher,  Sassoon,  and  theA.D.C. ;  and  then  1  ad- 

Lined,  al   IP  gestion,  with  Kiggell  and  Butler  for 

another  talk.     I  explained  the  situation  as  it  appeared  to 

Petain  and  to  Pershing.     Kiggell  then  went  fully  into  the 

ttegy.  H.  u,,  convinced  thai  the  Hun  tnu  I  Btand  in 
Flanders  and  could  nol  retreal  elasticallyonthe  Hindenburg 
plan  in  t  In    di  trict.    We    lion  Id.  therefore,  be  sure  to  find 


T7' 

UNiv: 


io2  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

him,  and,  having  gained  the  tactical  mastery  of  him,  should 
beat  him.  We  could  not  afford  to  take  over  one  yard  of 
front  from  the  French,  because  we  were  thin  enough  now, 
and  there  was  the  winter  training  ahead  and  all  the  roulement 
to  be  arranged.  He  was,  therefore,  firmly  convinced  that  to 
abandon  our  plan  would  be  fatal.  He  made  the  good  point 
that  the  operation  in  the  North  was  best  for  our  limited  forces. 
If  we  had  larger  Armies,  Kiggell  would  vote  for  the  Petain 
plan,  which  much  resembled  other  French  plans,  but  our 
forces  were  limited,  and  we  had  proved  our  power  to  beat 
the  Huns  and  to  go  on  beating  them.  We  should  take  the 
rest  of  the  ridge  and  then  continue  next  April,  threatening 
the  Hun  coast  defences  on  our  left  and  Lille  on  our  right, 
and  extending  our  hold  gradually  until  we  reached  the  Dutch 
frontier,  which  was  only  18  miles  from  Roulers.  We  should 
then  clear  the  two  ports  (Zeebrugge  and  Ostend),  establish 
railway  communication  with  them,  destroy  the  Hun  aero- 
dromes, and  menace  the  right  of  the  whole  German  line. 
The  loss  of  the  Belgian  coastline  would  be  a  heavy  blow  to 
Germany,  and  no  excuses  could  palliate  it.  He  was  pre- 
pared to  stake  his  reputation  that  the  Germans  could  not 
retreat  without  fighting  foot  by  foot  on  the  Flanders  front, 
and  that  next  year  in  from  one  to  two  months  the  operation 
would  be  concluded.  Every  attack  which  we  made  next 
year  would  draw  more  Hun  divisions  towards  us  and  make 
the  French  task  easier,  so  we  must  be  ready  to  go  on  with 
blow  upon  blow  as  we  were  doing  now,  and  for  this  strategy 
an  assured  supply  of  500,000  drafts  would  be  needed. 
These  should  begin  to  arrive  directly  the  present  operation 
ended,  so  that  they  might  finish  their  training,  and  he  said 
that  there  was  a  close  co  -relation  between  training  and 
casualties.  If  the  Government  took  a  political  decision 
which  interfered  with  the  prosecution  of  this  plan,  then  the 
matter  passed  out  of  his  hands.  He  was  only  talking 
strategy,  and  these  were  his  views. 

I  said  that  the  only  comment  I  had  to  make  was  that  a 
Flanders  offensive  could  not  be  begun  before  April,  which 
date  also  coincided  with  that  at  which  Trenchard  would  be 


1917]  KIGGELL  ON  STRATEGY  103 

ready,  and  that  if  the  Germans  came  from  the  Eastern  front 
and  attacked  the  French  in  February  or  March,  they  might 
secure  the  initiative,  which  might  prove  awkward.  But  in 
other  respects  I  did  not  question  the  plan,  which  seemed  to 
me  solid  and  well  weighed.  All  that  I  added  was  that  I 
appreciated  more  than  ever  in  what  a  difficult  position 
Petain  would  be  placed,  and  what  a  mean  role  was  assigned 
in  the  plan  to  a  proud  nation  like  the  French.  Was  no  ease- 
ment of  the  French  position  possible  ?  What  would  happen 
if  the  French  began  to  dissolve  from  our  failure  to  help  them 
out,  and  how  would  it  be  if  the  Huns  came  West  in  force  and 
broke  the  French  line  before  our  Flanders  attack  could 
recommence  ? 

Kiggell  thought  that  the  Flanders  attack  might  begin 
at  a  pinch  in  March,  that  the  French  were  strong 
enough  to  defend  themselves,  and  that  our  attack  was 
their  best  defence.  He  did  not  believe  in  a  French  attack 
in  force.  He  was  implacable  about  taking  over  more  line, 
and  after  discussing  the  matter  for  some  time,  we  saw  no 
course  to  meet  all  needs  except  for  the  Americans  to  take 
over  the  front  of  the  3rd  French  Army  or  more  if  they  could. 
But  I  do  not  think  that  Pershing  can  do  this  before  the 
spring,  and  I  doubt  whether  he  will  like  to  do  it  then. 

Butler  also  pointed  out  that  we  had  already  taken  over 
the  front  of  the  10th  French  Army  and  of  the  Nieuport 
Group.  Kiggell  thinks  that  the  Huns  are  weakening 
and  may  give  way  at  any  moment,  and  that  his  plan  will 
beat  the  Germans  and  end  the  war.  I  did  not  see  that  the 
latter  result  would  necessarily  follow,  and  I  said  so.  I 
also  said  that  Petain  had  a  correct  perception  of  the  diffi- 
cult ics  which  he  would  encounter  when  he  came  to  talk 
witli  the  F.M.,  that  neither  the  French  politicians  nor 
Boldiei  would  !"•  satisfied,  and  that  the  resulting  situation 
might  be  serious.  We  all  agreed  tli.it  the  right  course 
was  for  Baigand  Petain  to  meel  and  to  agree,  if  they  could, 
upon  the  plan  for  1918,  and  thai  everything  else  would 
flejx-nd  upon  the  resull  and  would  nut  u rally  follow  from 
it.      1    suggested    iliat     IVrshing  should    be   invited   to   this 


io4  THE  FRONT  IN  FRANCE 

and  other  conferences,  and  thought  that  this  would  be 
to  our  advantage,  though  I  could  not  say  whether  the 
President  would  allow  Pershing  to  attend.  Kiggell  thought 
that  it  would  be  difficult  for  Haig  to  take  the  initiative 
in  this  matter  as  the  Americans  were  under  the  French 
wing.  It  would  be  best  that  Pershing  himself  should 
suggest  that  he  should  attend. 

I  spoke  highly  of  Wagstaff's  work  to  Haig  and  others, 
and  suggested  a  Q  man  to  help  him.  We  talked  of  the 
Americans,  and  Butler  shared  my  views  about  them.  Byng 
told  us  to-day  of  his  Monday  raid  on  a  front  of  1200  yards 
with  three  old  English  county  regiments,  and  how  well  it 
all  went.  A  group  of  American  generals  witnessed  the 
attack  from  a  point  600  yards  to  the  flank,  and  were 
ecstatic  in  their  delight  at  the  success  of  the  raiders,  who 
remained  for  half  an  hour  in  the  Hun  support  trenches, 
killed  200  Huns,  and  brought  back  64  prisoners.  The 
raiders  had  gone  in  light  with  bayonets  on  their  rifles, 
50  rounds,  and  one  bomb  each.  The  barrage  and  gas 
worked  to  perfection.  Byng's  story  of  the  British  raider's 
desire  to  shove  his  bayonet  through  the  stomach  of  the 
'  —  bastard  who  pulls  the  string  of  the  minen — '  is  not 
for  the  drawing-room.  I  told  the  F.M.  and  G.H.Q.  of 
the  extraordinarily  valuable  political  and  military  effects 
of  the  manner  in  which  they  had  aided  the  Americans 
to  study  the  war  in  the  North,  and  our  training  and 
organisation. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  16.  Motored  to  Wimereux  and  saw  Tom 
Bridges  at  No.  16  General  Hospital.  His  right  leg  is  off 
just  below  the  knee,  but  he  is  going  on  well,  and  is  very 
brave  about  it.  His  wife  is  with  him,  and  he  hopes  to  be 
home  in  a  few  days.  Motored  to  Boulogne.  An  intermin- 
able line  of  ambulances  conveying  lying-down  wounded 
cases  to  the  hospital  ship.     A  rough  crossing.     Home  by 

7  P.M. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

Explanation  of  our  G.H.Q. 's  doubts — A  Zepp.  raid  near  Maryon — 
General  Gourkho  on  Russia — General  Petain's  victory  at  Malmaison 
— Colonel  Fagalde  on  General  Cadorna's  reasons  for  stopping  his 
attack — The  Austro-German  attack  on  Italy — British  support  sent — 
Letters  from  Sir  Charles  Monro,  Sir  Edmund  Allenby,  Sir  Stanley 
Maude,  and  General  Briggs — Description  of  events  in  India,  Palestine, 
Mesopotamia,  and  Salonika — Inspired  Press  attacks  on  the  General 
Stall — Italian  losses — General  Allenby's  victory  at  Gaza  and  Beer- 
sheba — Difficulties  with  the  Times — The  Supreme  Political  Council 
and  permanent  central  military  Committee  created  in  Paris — General 
Robertson's  opinion — War  by  Committee  bound  to  fail — Mr.  Lloyd 
George's  Paris  speech — He  reads  out  the  new  Agreement  in  the  House 
of  Commons — Our  deficit  in  strengths  and  total  losses  during  the  war. 

Thursday,  Oct.  18.  Took  steps  to  learn  the  truth  about 
G.H.Q.'s  doubts.  The  Boulogne  Conference  had  only  agreed 
to  consider  the  question  of  the  extension  of  the  British 
front  and  we  had  not  committed  ourselves.  We  had  gone 
no  further  than  this  during  Painleve's  and  Foch's  visit 
to  London  a  fortnight  ago,  though  they  had  asked  us  to 
take  up  to  Berry-au-Bac.  A  letter  was  going  to-day  to 
G.H.Q.  to  clear  the  matter  up.  I  hope  that  this  may  be 
done,  but  Painleve  certainly  believed  when  he  spoke  to 
me  that  we  had  agreed  to  take  over  more  line,  and  not 
only  to  consider  the  matter.  Some  folk  think  that  G.H.Q. 
are  much  too  stiff  and  narrow  about  the  French,  and  that 
we  can  afford  to  extend  as  tar  as  the  Oise. 

Friday,  (><t.  19.  Lord  Baldane  dined  at  Maryon, 
and  I  walked  back  with  him  to  the  Tube  station.  As 
1  returned  I  heard  two  explosions,  and  as  I  turned  in  al 
Maryon    I    heard   a    BO-ealled   aerial   torpedo   going  through 

the  air  like  b  small  railway  train.     It  appeared  to  he  fcravel- 

108 


106  WAK  BY  COMMITTEE 

ling  from  North  to  South.  It  fell  near  Cricklewood  and 
killed  a  lot  of  people.  There  was  no  noise  of  any  motors. 
We  afterwards  heard  that  it  was  a  Zepp.  raid,  but  only 
one  of  the  Zepps.  reached  London,  drifting  with  the  wind, 
and  let  go  three  or  four  bombs.     Our  guns  were  all  silent. 

Saturday,  Oct.  20.  About  100  people  killed  and  wounded 
by  the  bombs  yesterday.  One  fell  in  Piccadilly  near 
the  pavement  in  front  of  Swan  and  Edgar's.  Egerton  and 
I  went  to  see  the  damage.  All  the  glass  smashed  in  the 
adjoining  houses  and  the  gas  and  water  mains  broken 
where  the  bomb  fell.  '  Meat '  Lowther,  who  was  crossing 
the  circus  at  the  moment,  had  a  narrow  escape.  The 
bomb  weighed  220  pounds.  It  penetrated  some  four  or 
five  feet  into  the  roadway. 

Sunday,  Oct.  21.  Had  tea  with  Margey  and  Freddy  to 
tell  them  about  Joan.  F.  says  that  there  are  now  20,000 
special  constabulary  in  London  and  15,000  regular  con- 
stables. The  fire  brigades  of  places  round  London  are 
now  under  London  so  as  to  secure  better  co-operation. 

Monday,  Oct.  22.  Had  a  talk  with  Sir  Thomas  Robinson, 
Agent-General  for  Queensland,  about  meat  supplies.  He 
thinks  that  Lord  Rhondda  is  making  a  mess  of  things, 
and  gave  me  a  lot  of  detail  and  not  much  proof.  Lunched 
with  Sir  Alan  and  Lady  Johnstone,  Lady  Essex,  and  Prince 
Croy.     The  latter  told  us  how  he  escaped  from  Belgium. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  23.  Saw  Geoffrey  Dawson  at  the 
Travellers'  Club  in  the  morning.  He  leaves  for  G.H.Q. 
to-day.  We  posted  each  other  up  in  events  at  home 
and  abroad.  He  wants  me  to  make  Robertson  a  little 
more  amenable  on  the  War  Council,  and  Milner  is  to 
make  L.  G.  less  rude  to  Robertson.  I  lunched  with 
Generals  Dessino  and  Gourkho  at  'The  Senior.'  Gourkho 
is  a  small  man  with  a  strong  eager  face.  He  told 
me  how  he  had  been  treated  in  Russia  and  finally  exiled, 
the  excuse  being  that  he  had  written  to  the  Tsar  and  was 
a  danger  to  the  new  Republic.  He  says  that  there  is  no 
liberty  of  domicile  or  of  the  person  in  Russia.  He  does 
not  think  that  the  Germans  can  do  much  more  in  the 


1917]  GENERAL  GOURKHO  107 

Gulf  of  Riga  this  autumn,  and  that  the  attacks  are  for 
moral  effect.  He  says  that  there  are  heaps  of  Russian 
troops  still  at  the  front.  The  Germans  have  to  hold  1800 
kilometres  with  91  divisions,  so  it  means  a  front  of  20 
kilometres,  on  an  average,  per  division,  and  Gourkho  thinks 
that  they  cannot  take  much  away.  The  Russian  Corps 
are  now  of  three  divisions,  each  Army  Corps  36  battalions. 
In  all,  they  have  mobilised  14,000,000  men,  but  many 
prisoners  have  been  lost,  and  the  Russians  need  more  men 
on  the  L.  of  C.  and  in  charge  of  wagons  and  horses  than 
we  do.  There  are  ample  troops  to  hold  the  Germans,  and 
to  beat  them,  if  only  the  Russians  will  fight,  but  Gourkho 
admits  that  the  Russians  are  merely  passive  and  have 
lost  their  offensive  spirit,  so  their  numbers  really  mean 
nothing  at  all. 

I  saw  Sir  T.  Robinson  and  Mr.  I.  Young  again  ,about 
meat  supplies,  but  could  not  trace  any  crimes  to  Rhondda. 
Looked  in  at  Mrs.  Keppel's  and  found  her  looking  very 
well  after  her  cure  at  Aix. 

Went  on  to  York  House  to  talk  to  Robertson,  and  told 
him  my  experiences  abroad.  The  report  of  Petain's 
victory  on  the  Aisne  to-day  just  in  and  pleased  us  much. 
R.  had  not  much  news.  The  soldiers  and  the  War  Cabinet 
seem  to  get  on  very  fairly.  He  growled  about  Smuts 
saying  that  the  war  was  won.  R.  thought  it  was  not 
won,  and  that  it  had  to  be  won  here  in  England.  We  were 
70,000  down  in  France.  I  saw  Godley  to-day.  His  2nd 
Anzac  Corps  lost  about  15,000  men  in  the  fighting  of  the 
4th,  (ttli,  and  12th  October, 

Thursday,  Oct.  2.~>.  Colonel  Fagalde  lunched  with  me  and 
tee  discussed  affairs,  lie  told  me  thai  Cadorna's  decision 
not   to  .tii.,  d  e.uly  in  October,  as  he  had  formally 

promised,  was  suddenly  arrived  at  after  the  arrival  at-  Ins 
H.Q.  <>f  Signor  Bissolati.  On  Sept.  L9  one  of  the  French 
Mission  hii'l  reached  Paris  and  reported  thai  all  the  attack 
was  well  mounted  and  en  train,  and  then  on  tin'  20th  oame 
the  telegram  to  .-ay  that  it  was  abandoned.    Cadorna  had 

VOL.  11.  1 


108  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

given  five  reasons  :  that  they  had  lost  too  many  men,  though 
in  fact  their  losses  were  only  145,000 ;  that  their  depots 
were  empty,  though  this  was  not  correct ;  that  public 
opinion  did  not  permit  a  check  to  be  risked  ;  that  they 
had  to  store  up  shells  for  a  spring  offensive ;  and,  finally, 
that  the  Austrians  were  going  to  attack.  Foch,  and 
Robertson  at  Foch's  instigation,  had  sent  severe  letters  to 
Cadorna,  who  was  now  faced  by  the  Austro-German  attack 
announced  this  morning  and  considered  by  Fagalde  retri- 
butive justice.  From  a  Boche  airman  brought  down,  it  was 
found  that  a  14th  German  Army  consisting  of  five  to  nine 
divisions  had  been  formed,  and  F.  says  that  it  is  attacking 
round  the  angle  of  the  Carnic  and  Julian  fronts,  that 
Cividale  is  the  converging  point,  and  that  the  2nd  Italian 
Army  is  concentrating  there.  We  have  left  some  fifty 
of  our  heavy  guns,  it  appears.  The  Germans  are  of  good 
regular  divisions,  and  there  may  be  more  than  we 
know. 

We  discussed  my  visit  to  France,  and  talked  over  all 
the  question  of  the  extension  of  the  British  front.  Fagalde 
asks  whether  anything  is  behind  to-day's  leader  about  the 
Ypres  fight  in  1914,  and  the  omission  of  all  mention  of  Foch 
and  his  Army.  They  cannot  conceive  in  Paris  that  I  am 
not  responsible  for  all  the  Times  leaders  on  military  affairs. 
Fagalde  wants  me  to  get  L.  G.  to  support  Painleve's  candi- 
dature for  the  French  War  Office.  F.  thinks  that  Barthou 
may  become  French  P.M.,  and  Thomas  Foreign  Secretary. 
He  also  wants  Robertson  to  indoctrinate  our  statesmen 
about  war,  as  Foch  found  when  staying  a  week-end  with 
Balfour  and  others  at  Chequers  Court  that  there  were  many 
fundamental  questions  which  the}'  did  not  understand, 
and  that  they  appreciated  Foch's  explanations. 

Saturday,  Oct.  27.  The  Dutch  Minister,  Dr.  van  Swinderen, 
had  telephoned  that  he  wished  to  see  me,  and  brought 
up  to  Mary  on  Hall  his  new  military  attache,  a  gunner  and 
a  typical  Dutchman.  We  had  a  short  talk  on  politics  and 
the  war,  and  then  branched  into  the   Laszlo  case.     Van 


1917]  LASZLO'S  TREATMENT  109 

Swinderen  admitted  that  Laszlo  had  sent  two  letters,  and 
he  vowed  only  two,  through  the  Dutch  bag  to  the  sister 
of  Loudon,  the  Dutch  Foreign  Minister,  with  whose  family 
L.  was  on  friendly  terms,  and  that  no  letter  from  L.  to  any 
enemy  person,  country,  or  address  had  gone  through  the 
bag.  He  said  that  our  people  here  had  read  some  of  Laszlo's 
letters  sent  abroad  by  the  ordinary  post,  and  had  found 
evidence  that  he  had  written  other  letters  which  they  had 
not  seen.  They  taxed  Laszlo  with  it.  and  he  admitted  that 
he  had  used  the  Dutch  bag,  an  admission  which  Van  Swin- 
deren was  evidently  very  angry  about.  S.  thought  L. 
a  child  and  an  illumine,  with  the  artistic  temperament 
highly  developed,  and  very  intemperate  in  his  language, 
but  he  did  not  believe  him  to  be  a  traitor  though  he  hated 
Russia.  I  said  that  the  whole  of  the  proceedings  in  the 
Laszlo  case  were  un-English,  and  that  L.'s  many  friends 
were  in  a  fix  as  they  did  not  know  the  precise  charge 
against  him.  L.  was  not  allowed  to  be  present  when  L.'s 
friends  gave  evidence  to  character  for  him,  and  the  whole 
thing  resembled  the  lettre  de  cachet  more  than  English 
methods.  If  L.  were  proved  guilty,  his  friends  would  have 
nothing  more  to  say  for  him,  but,  till  he  was,  they  stood 
by  him,  and  I  thought  this  attitude  unexceptionable. 

I  lunched  with  the  Ian  Hamiltons ;  pleasant  as  always, 
and  a  nice  talk.  Colonel  Mola  there,  and  we  discussed 
the  new  and  startling  German  attack  on  Italy,  known 
apparently  to  our  correspondents  in  Italy  on  Oct.  21, 
and  first  reported  in  the  British  Press  on  Oct.  25.  Went 
off  with  Mola,  who  was  wvy  anxious  to  have  assurance  of 
British  support.  He  says  that  though  he  is  supposed  to 
be  ;i  persona  grata  here,  all  the  liaison  work  is  done  by 
Cadorna  and  Robertson  through  Delme*  Radcliffe,  and 
Holfl  hears  very  little.  We  agreed  that  I  should  go  to 
Robertson  and  In-  to  the  D.M.O.,  and  see  what  could  be 
done.  We  talked  the  ease  over.  I  then  saw  Robertson, 
•rho  told  me  thai  \\»-  were  Bending  two  divisions  by  the 
Riviera  route,  and  the   French  four  divisions  by  the  Mont 


no  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

Cenis.  He  also  showed  me  a  wire  sent  to  X.,  giving  the 
latter  a  rowing  for  variations  in  his  reports.  He  asked 
me  to  see  Macdonogh  about  the  figures,  and  the  latter 
told  me  afterwards  that  there  were  only  six  divisions  of 
Germans  and  44  Austrians  all  round  the  frontiers  of  Italy, 
and  that  the  unofficial  and  Press  reports  from  Italy  had 
grossly  exaggerated  the  figures.  However,  it  is  bad  enough, 
as  the  Italians  have  given  way  before  weak  forces  which 
should  easily  have  been  held  up.  Mola  had  been  keen 
that  only  English  troops  should  go  and  not  French.  I 
agreed  that  it  should  be  one  or  the  other,  and  said  that  I 
hated  military  salads,  and  did  not  want  to  see  Salonika 
conditions  repeated  in  Italy.  Later  learnt  that  the 
arrangements  for  the  move  to  Italy  are  under  way.  I 
informed  Mola,  who  was  most  grateful. 

Sunday,  Oct.  28.  The  following  letters  which  I  have 
recently  received  from  Monro,  C.-in-C.  in  India  ;  from 
Allenby,  commanding  in  Egypt ;  from  Maude,  command- 
ing in  Mesopotamia ;  and  from  Briggs,  commanding  the 
16th  Army  Corps  at  Salonika,  give  a  general  view  of  our 
position  just  now  elsewhere  than  on  the  Western  front. 
The  dates  show  how  long  the  letters  from  distant  theatres 
now  take  in  coming. 


Letter  from  Sir  Charles  Monro, 

Received  Hampstead,  Sep.  24,  1917  : 

Simla,  August  15,  1917. 

My  dear  Repington, — Thank  you  very  much  for  your  most 
interesting  letter.  Some  great  events  have  happened  in  the  past 
six  months.  What  a  pity  that  Russia  could  not  have  been  in- 
duced to  stay  her  reforming  hand  until  after  the  war :  her 
reasons  for  taking  such  a  wild  move  at  such  a  period  are  not 
known  to  me,  but  to  an  outsider  it  does  seem  that  she  was 
in  honour  bound  to  defer  all  antics  until  peace  had  been  re- 


1917]  MONRO  ON  IXDIA  in 

established,  as  after  all  she  was  in  a  measure  instrumental  in 
starting  this  business. 

People  seem  at  present  in  somewhat  low  spirits  at  the  pro- 
longation of  the  war,  but  that  cannot  be  helped — we  must  see  it 
through  somehow  or  other. 

We  have,  as  you  may  have  heard,  just  concluded  a  frontier 
affair.  The  Mahsuds  had  been  giving  us  trouble  since  last 
February,  and  we  were  compelled  to  deal  with  them  in  order  to 
prevent  a  serious  outbreak  from  spreading.  In  order  to  under- 
stand the  situation  in  which  we  were  placed,  it  is  necessary  to 
remind  you  that  our  system  of  holding  the  country  in  Waziristan 
is  by  a  series  of  frontier  posts  held  by  Militia  levies  of  varying 
strengths,  supported  by  occasional  posts  manned  by  Regulars. 
The  two  most  important  are  Wana  and  Sarwekai. 

In  February  the  tribesmen  came  forward  to  attack  the  latter 
post.  The  officer  commanding  in  charge  acted  like  a  resolute 
soldier — he  went  out  to  ambush  the  Mahsuds,  but  unfortunately 
got  caught  in  a  trap  himself.  I  have  nothing  to  say  of  this 
officer  except  to  admire  his  courage  ;  he  lost  his  life  in  the  enter- 
prise, and  the  tribesmen,  elated  by  their  success,  were  encouraged 
to  greater  truculence.  But  that  was  bad  luck ;  a  frontier  soldier 
cannot  play  for  safety.  We  should  never  govern  wild  tribesmen 
by  halting  timid  councils.  As  a  result  the  tribesmen  tried  to 
prevent  us  from  supplying  Wana  and  Sarwekai,  our  route  being 
through  the  Gonial,  a  very  difficult  communication  following 
the  bed  of  a  river  much  subjected  to  flood,  and  through  a  defile 
exposed  to  intense  heat  and  lack  of  water. 

We  could  not  give  up  the  posts  mentioned  for  obvious  reasons, 
and  as  the  tribesmen  persisted  in  their  methods,  only  one  course 
was  open  to  us.  So  we  went  in  from  Jandola  through  the  Shahur 
Tangi,  via  Barwand,  to  the  Khaisora  Valley,  one  of  the  most 
fertile  parts  of  Mahsud  territory.  We  burnt  and  destroyed 
all  crops  and  habitations  as  we  proceeded,  and,  in  addition, 
we  bombed  their  chief  towns,  such  as  Kanigoram,  Makin, 
Marobi,  etc.  This  has  had  the  result  of  bringing  them  to  their 
knees,  and  making  them  sue  for  terms. 

The  expedition  was  under  the  command  of  Major-General 
Beynon,  who  showed  himself  a  capable  and  cautious  leader.  The 
General  Officer  Commanding  Northern  Army,  Sir  A.  Barrett, 
exercised  general  control  subject  to  Army  Headquarters  direction 


112 


WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 


where  necessary.  It  was  unfortunate  that  we  had  to  conduct 
an  expedition  in  the  middle  of  the  hot  weather,  but  it  was 
unavoidable.  As  a  result  in  India  the  Staff  have  gained  great 
and  most  profitable  experience.  The  communications  were 
difficult.  Only  one  means  of  crossing  the  Indus  obtained,  viz. 
from  Mari  to  Kalabagh,  and  from  thence  merely  a  2  ft.  6  inch 
railway  projected  to  Tank,  so  that  all  the  Officers  on  the  Lines 
of  Communications,  Railway  Transport  Officers,  Station  and 
Base  Commandants,  etc.,  learnt  much,  and  have  profited  to  a 
large  degree  by  their  experience. 


Work  continues  to  progress  with  unceasing  vigour  in  India. 
We  have  now  two  Commands,  commanded  by  Lieut. -General 
Sir  A.  Barrett  and  Lieut. -General  Sir  0.  Anderson.  They  have 
a  very  considerable  Staff,  and  are  doing  very  good  work  in  their 
respective  spheres.  Two  Inspectors  of  Infantry,  one  Inspector 
of  Artillery,  of  Cavalry,  of  Royal  Engineers,  Pioneer  Services, 
and  of  the  Indian  Defence  Forces  have  been  procured,  and  they 
help  us  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  outside  world. 

The  British  Section  of  the  Indian  Defence  Force  is  now  a 
working  machine.  The  force  consists  of  42,000  men,  of  which 
16,000  are  for  general  service  and  26,000  for  local  service.  The 
former  can  be  called  on  to  serve  anywhere  in  India.  They  serve 
compulsorily,  and  as  time  goes  on  should  prove  a  valuable  ad- 
junct for  local  employment  in  India. 

We  gave  Indians  an  opportunity  for  volunteering  for  service 
under  much  the  same  conditions.  The  number  to  be  embodied 
at  one  time  was  restricted  to  6000  men  owing  to  shortage  of 
officers,  instructors,  etc.,  but  they  have  not  responded  to  any 
useful  degree.  No  limitation  was  put  on  numbers  wishing  to 
register.  Recruiting  is  doing  well.  We  took  20,800  fighting 
men  for  the  month  of  July,  a  very  good  figure  bearing  in  mind 
that  our  normal  monthly  enlistment  before  the  war  averaged 
about  1200,  and  I  am  hopeful  that  in  subsequent  months  this 
figure  will  be  considerably  increased.  We  found  at  Head- 
quarters some  months  ago  that  the  Recruiting  problem  had 
grown  beyond  the  power  of  the  Adjutant-General  to  control ; 
we  therefore,  through  the  Government  of  India,  formed  a  Central 


1917]  FAMOUS  RECRUITING  113 

Recruiting  Board.  This  Board  can  correspond  with  more 
authority  v\ith  local  governments,  and  can  direct  them  as  to  the 
course  they  should  pursue  to  stimulate  recruiting.  The  result 
is  that  all  Local  Governments  have  also  their  Boards,  and  soldiers 
and  civilians  are  working  together  strenuously  to  expand  our 
recruiting  prospects.  We  must  still  stick  to  voluntary  effort 
in  India — to  attempt  compulsion  would  be  very  unwise  in  my 
judgment,  so  we  must  make  the  best  of  voluntary  effort,  and  if 
by  combination  we  can  work  up  to  30,000  recruits  per  month, 
this  figure  should  prove  a  great  Imperial  asset.  I  cannot  say 
for  certain  that  we  shall,  but  we  will  try.  To  deal  with  this 
number  of  men  we  shall  want  more  officers  with  knowledge 
of  the  language  and  customs  of  the  men  they  will  command, 
and  that  is  a  big  question.  We  are  struggling  here  with  the 
Officer  question,  and  are  comparatively  well  off  so  far  as  young 
officers  are  concerned  ;  it  is  in  experienced  officers  we  are 
short. 

We  have  two  schools  for  cadets,  and  two  for  older  officers, 
seeking  commissions  through  the  Indian  Army  Reserve  of 
Officers,  or  by  other  means.  We  have  now  taken  just  over  3000 
through  the  agency  of  the  Indian  Army  Reserve  of  Officers  alone, 
so  we  are  moving  along  ;  and  we  have  another  source  yet  which 
has  not  so  far  materialised. 

We  are  now  engaged  in  forming  24  additional  battalions  and 
accessory  units,  and  we  have  got  permission  from  home,  when 
the}'  are  completed,  to  start  21  more.  We  shall  proceed  with 
these  latter  as  we  Avork  the  former  off.  It  means  our  having  a 
large  bulk  of  men  at  the  depots,  as  we  have  increased  the  estab- 
lishment of  all  battalions  serving  outside  India  from  750  to  1000, 
a  very  large  increase  to  meet ;  and  we  try  to  have  a  30  per  cent, 
reserve  on  the  spot  to  supply  wastage  in  Mesopotamia  and  East 
Africa. 

Mesopotamia  is,  of  course,  an  absorbing  subject  to  India.  We 
have  already  sent  there  272  barges,  03  tugs,  273  craft  of  different 
kinds,  and  their  number  still  increases.  Besides,  we  provide  all 
the  material  for  railways,  timber, etc., ad  lib.,  which  is  demanded. 
The  -killed  personnel  required  for  railways,  electric  lights,  ice 

machines,  inland  water  transport,  gardening,  is  a  hea\  \  tax  on 
India. 

We   have  already   sent   considerably  over   100,000    labourers 


ii4  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

there,  and  it  would  astonish  you  to  see  the  applications  which 
reach  us  weekly  for  riveters,  boiler -makers,  engine-drivers, 
station  -  masters,  pointsmen,  signalmen,  etc.,  ad  inf.  We  have 
started  schools  to  educate  the  number  of  tradesmen  asked  for, 
but  it  will  be  a  difficult  matter  to  meet  the  demands  we  get  in 
the  future.  As  to  the  provision  of  rails,  we  have  managed  to 
procure  silica  bricks  for  a  firm  in  India,  and  are  consequently 
turning  out  rails  in  increasing  proportion.  All  the  rails  we  make, 
amounting  to  about  3000  tons  per  month,  we  are  sending  to 
Egypt  for  the  present.  For  Mesopotamia  we  pull  up  existing 
lines.  All  this  work  is  done  under  the  auspices  of  Sir  Thomas 
Holland,  a  most  remarkable  man,  who  is  President  of  the 
Munitions  Board. 

In  many  branches  of  industry  very  great  progress  is  being 
made,  particularly  in  tannery  and  textiles,  which  should  be  a 
great  help  to  England.  The  chemical  side  also  promises  very 
well,  and  if  only  we  had  adequate  machinery  in  India  a  very 
great  deal  could  be  done.  We  are  much  hampered  now  by  the 
want  of  it. 

The  force  in  Mesopotamia  continues  to  expand,  and  as  it  does 
so  the  development  of  the  Port  of  Basra  becomes  an  urgent  need. 
We  hope  now  to  be  able  to  handle  about  100,000  tons  a  month, 
but  this  will  not  long  suffice,  and  we  shall  have  to  work  up  to 
130,000  tons.  This  means  additional  wharfage  accommodation, 
barges,  and  increased  labour. 

So  far  as  the  North -West  Frontier  is  concerned,  the  Amir  of 
Afghanistan  has  played  a  very  loyal  part.  The  Mahsuds  have 
sued  for  peace,  the  Mohmands  have  accepted  our  terms  after  a 
blockade  of  about  one  year,  and  the  Hindustani  fanatics  are 
proving  docile.  This  represents  the  present  situation,  but,  as 
you  know,  it  would  be  a  rash  man  who  would  venture  to 
predict  as  to  the  future  in  that  most  uncertain  area. 

I  am  afraid  you  will  find  this  a  very  uninteresting  letter.     It 

has  been  written  in  a  great  hurry,  as  I  am  just  off  on  a  tour  of 

inspection  for  about  a  fortnight,  and  have  a  certain  amount 

to  do  finishing  off  odds  and  ends  before  finally  starting. — Yours 

sincerely,  ««■•«■ 

J  C.  C.  Monro. 

P.S. — Regarding  the  river  craft  we  have  sent  to  Mesopotamia, 


1917]  ALLENBY'S  PREPARATIONS  115 

the    following    will    show    you    more    clearly    what    has   been 
done : — 

48  paddle  steamers.  272  barges. 

63  tugs.  135  motor  launches. 

The  balance  comprises  a  variety  of  craft. 


Letter  from  General  Allenby  : 

General  Headquarters, 

Egyptian  Expeditionary  Fori  e, 

25th  September  1917. 

Mv  dear  Rkpington, — Thank  you  for  your  letter  of  the 
8th  inst.  I  am  very  grateful  to  you  for  your  kind  words  of  sym- 
pathy about  my  boy.  He  was  just  19£  years  old,  and  had  been 
lighting  for  17  months.  He  was  in  the  whole  of  the  Somme 
battle,  the  Ancre,  Arras,  Messines,  and  had  already  been  recom- 
mended for  promotion  to  Captain  when  he  was  killed  by  a  chance 
shell  near  Nieuport. 

My  preparations  are  getting  on.  When  I  arrived  in  Egypt, 
1  visited  the  Palestine  front.  Then  I  sent  home  my  apprecia- 
tion of  the  situation,  and  asked  for  what  I  thought  was  neces- 
sary. I  wanted  to  begin  an  active  campaign  this  month  ;  but 
I  pointed  oat  that  I  deprecated  any  serious  operations  until  I 
had  been  made  up  to  the  strength  1  considered  necessary,  and 
that  minor  operations  would  do  no  good.  I  have  not  yet  got 
all  I  asked  for  ;  and  I  shall  not  attempt  anything  on  a  big  scale 
until  I  have  got  what  has  been  promised  me — which  is  practically 
ulni  1  have  demanded. 

If  required  to  start  prematurely-  bo  relieve  pressure,  for  in- 

ooe,  "ii  .Maude,  I  am  ready  to  undertake  a  minor  operation  ; 
hut  I  iru-t  ili.it  such  action  will  not  be  necessary.  My  60th 
Division  fnun  Salonika  is  in  good  order.  The  10th,  from  there, 
ii  now  arriving  ;  and  it  Buffers  from  some  malaria.  The  doctors 
shake  their  heads,  Ian  the  G.O.C.  the  Division,  Longley,  assures 
me  that  they  will  soon  gel  rid  of  it.     Falkenhayn,  I  think,  has 


u6  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

his  eyes  on  Bagdad.  If  he  comes  my  way  he  will  have  great 
difficulty  in  supplying  his  Army  ;  and  with  his  present  strength 
has  not  a  chance  against  me.  I  am  in  daily  touch  with  Maude, 
and  my  Intelligence  is  good  ;  also  I  have  great  hope  of  good 
co-operation  by  the  Arabs  N.  of  Akaba,  and  against  the  Hedjaz 
railway. 

I  have  made  a  lot  of  changes  since  I  came  out  here,  and  have 
now  a  good  Staff  and  some  capable  commanders.  Bols,  who  was 
with  me  in  the  3rd  Army,  is  coming  out  to  take  the  place  of 
Lynden  Bell,  who  has  just  gone  home.  His  eyes  bothered  him, 
and  he  could  not  carry  on  efficiently.  I  found  it  necessary  to 
shift  G.H.Q.  from  Cairo  to  the  Palestine  front.  I  keep  some 
Administrative  Staff  there  still,  but  the  C.G.S.,  D.A.G.,  D.Q.M.G., 
and  all  heads  are  here.  We  have  a  camp  of  huts  and  tents, 
widely  distributed  to  dodge  bombs,  on  a  ridge  300  feet  above 
the  sea,  and  some  three  miles  from  it.  I  can  reach  any  part  of 
my  front  line  inside  of  two  hours  by  motor  car.  A  Ford  car  on  a 
wire-netting  road  is  a  wonderful  means  of  travel.  You  know, 
I  suppose,  exactly  how  my  Army  is  now  organised.  Two  of  the 
B.G.G.S.s  only  arrived  last  month,  but  they  are  first-rate  men- 
Bartholomew  and  Howard  Vyse — and  are  pulling  their  full 
weight  already.  Djemal  (the  Great),  who  commanded  all  the 
Turkish  Armies,  has,  I  believe,  been  definitely  degomme.  I  don't 
know  his  successor.  Djemal  did  not  get  on  with  the  Boches. 
Now  Falkenhayn  will  have  a  freer  hand,  as  will  also  Kress  von 
Kressenstein,  my  immediate  opponent.  K.  v.  K.  is  a  capable, 
resourceful,  and  determined  character,  and  gets  on  well,  I  am 
told,  with  the  Turks.  I  enclose  an  appreciation  of  him  by  a 
Syrian  Jew,  who  knows  him  well.  His  Turks  are  digging  hard, 
and  have  made  Gaza  into  a  strong  place  ;  but  their  front  is 
thirty-five  miles  long,  and  I  don't  think  they  can  count  upon 
more  than  30,000  rifles.  They  are  great  diggers,  however,  and 
are  making  strong  places  skilfully  under  German  instruction. 
We  get  about  twenty  deserters  a  week,  and  expect  to  get  more. 
Till  lately  these  were  poorly  fed  ;  recently,  however,  food  has 
become  more  plentiful,  and  can  be  readily  distributed,  owing,  I 
believe,  to  the  arrival  of  200  motor  lorries.  Generally  speaking, 
their  moral  is  not  good.  They  have  a  lot  of  machine  guns  and 
plenty  of  S.A.A.,  and  a  fair  number  of  guns  and  howitzers  up 
to  5-9". 


1917]        ALLENBY'S  ARMY  CONFIDENT  117 

.My  Army  is  in  good  spirits,  and  is  confident  of  success  ;  but  as 
I  have  already  said,  I  am  not  going  to  start  before  I  am  ready. 
Egypt  is  quiet,  but  an  ill  success  would  be  very  bad  for  our 
prestige.  A  big  success  on  my  part  would  stifle  sedition,  and 
would  bring  ever)-  one  down  on  our  side  of  the  fence.  We  are, 
and  shall  always  be,  the  Unbelievers,  and  the  sympathy  of  the 
True  Believer  will  always  be  with  those  of  his  own  creed.  The 
Arabs  will  join  us  in  the  tight  for  their  independence  ;  but  only 
for  that  reason  and  not  because  they  love  us.  They  believe  in 
our  word  ;  and  that  makes  it  so  important  that  in  any  negotia- 
tion with  the  Turks  we  must  insist  on  Arab  independence— to 
secure  which  we  have  prevailed  on  them  to  fight  for  us,  and 
which  we  have  promised  to  guarantee  for  them. 

I  am  very  much  interested  in  all  you  tell  me  about  affairs  in 
Europe.  I  agree  with  you  that  it  appears  as  if  our  Navy  could 
help  more  on  the  Belgian  coast.  We  have,  I  suppose,  four  times 
the  number  of  battleships  that  the  Central  Powers  can  put 
together  ;  and  they  will  be  no  use  to  us  after  the  war,  so  we  may 
as  well  use  them  now.  Dalmeny  sends  his  remembrances  to 
you.  He  has  been  worth  more  than  his  weight  in  gold  to  me 
here  ;  in  fact,  I  don't  think  I  could  have  done  what  there  was 
to  do  without  him. 

We  have  got  over  the  summer  weather,  practical^  ;  and  now 
the  climate  is  perfect.  No  rain  so  far,  but  we  may  expect  some 
shortly,  though  not  much.  The  summer  has  been  cooler  than 
usual,  but  I  don't  think  that  the  heat  in  this  part  of  the  world 
should  ever  stop  active  campaigning.  Water  is  the  determining 
factor  in  fighting  here.  You  fight  for  water,  then  develop  the 
supply  ;  then  based  on  that,  fight  for  water  again.  We  drag 
a  pipe  line  from  Egypt  for  our  main  supply  ;  but  that  is  not 
mobile,  though  it  follows  on  bravely  behind  us. — Yours  sincerely, 

Edmund  W.  Allenby. 


Letter  from  Sir  Stanley  Maude : 

.MKSOPOTAMTAN'    KXI'KIHI  ImN  \l:v    Fokce, 

( ;  k.n i.k ,\ l  Bbadqd a btbbs, 
28tf  August  1917. 

My   dbab   Rbfxngton,    Many  thanks  for  most  interesting 


u8  WAE  BY  COMMITTEE 

letter,  dated  June  27.  You  will  see  by  the  above  date  how  long 
it  takes  for  a  letter  to  reach  us  here. 

I  envy  you  your  trip  to  France  for  there  must  be  much  to  see 
and  hear  there. 

I  was  particularly  glad  to  hear  what  you  had  got  to  say  about 
the  other  fronts,  for  here  we  are  so  out  in  the  wilds  that  one  is 
rather  apt  to  become  centred  in  one's  immediate  surroundings 
as  if  they  were  the  whole  thing  instead  of  being  merely  on  the 
fringe  of  this  vast  whole  world  war. 

It  was  splendid  to  hear  the  excellent  account  you  give  of  our 
people  in  France,  and  though  since  then  they  seem  to  have  had 
some  little  trouble  on  the  Yser,  and  even  more  recently  round 
Ypres,  the  latest  news  of  the  Canadian  advance  is  magnificent. 
The  French  too,  in  spite  of  the  shortage  of  men  to  which  you 
refer,  seem  to  be  doing  big  things  round  Verdun,  whilst  the 
Italian  offensive— in  spite  of  the  contradictions  of  the  German 
wireless — appears  to  be  taking  heavy  toll  of  the  Austrians. 
So,  on  the  Western  front  things  look,  on  the  whole,  quite 
rosy. 

On  the  Eastern  front  the  Russian  debacle  seems  to  have  been 
temporarily  stayed,  and  though  in  places  they  are  still  losing 
ground,  in  others  both  they  and  the  Rumanians  are  advancing, 
which  is  all  to  the  good. 

Now  we  hear  reports  that  the  Japanese  are  sending  troops  to 
assist  the  Russians,  and  if  this  is  true,  such  a  stiffening  may  well 
make  them  turn  and  face  the  enemy  once  more.  In  fact,  the 
moral  effect  of  their  appearance  on  the  Eastern  front,  coupled 
with  the  American  entry  on  the  Western  front,  must  be  consider- 
able on  exhausted  nations  such  as  the  Germans  and  Austrians 
must  now  be. 

Here  we  have  been  inactive  practically  since  May  1st, 
for  by  the  end  of  April  we  had  won  all  the  objectives 
which  we  set  out  to  attain,  and  after  capturing  Samarrah 
on  April  23rd,  following  on  the  severe  defeats  of  the  18th 
Turkish  Army  Corps  on  the  21st  and  22nd,  we  finally  drove 
the  13th  Corps  for  the  third  time  back  into  the  Jebel  Hamrin 
on  April  30th,  and  gave  them  a  parting  kick  in  the  shape 
of  a  raid  by  aeroplanes  which  dropped  half  a  ton  of  bombs  on 
them. 

But  when  I  say  that  we  have  been  inactive,  that  is  perhaps 


1917]  MAUDE  CONSOLIDATING  iiq 

scarcely  correct.  True,  we  have  been  inactive  as  regards  opera- 
tions, but  as  regards  reorganisation  and  preparation  for  the 
future,  things  have  been  more  strenuous  than  ever,  and  occasion- 
ally it  has  been  difficult  to  keep  things  going  at  high  pressure. 
Still,  we  have  got  along  first-rate,  and  we  are  almost  fully  pre- 
pared now  to  take  on  the  enemy  once  more. 

I  was  glad  to  be  able  to  get  the  troops  into  their  summer 
quarters  before  the  intense  heat  began,  and  by  means  of  giving 
them  plenty  of  room  and  placing  as  many  of  them  as  possible  on 
the  river  banks,  we  have  got  through  the  summer  most  success- 
fully. The  troops  have  had  a  good  rest,  which  they  had  fully 
earned  after  all  their  hard  work.  They  have  been  well,  and  now 
that  the  early  mornings  and  the  late  evenings,  as  well  as  the 
nights,  are  beginning  to  get  cooler,  we  are  getting  along  well 
with  their  more  advanced  training,  which  is  so  necessary  before 
they  take  the  field  again.  Not  that  we  have  meantime  neglected 
the  preparation  of  defensive  positions.  I  first  went  round  all 
these  on  the  three  fronts,  namely,  Dialah,  Tigris,  and  Euphrates, 
in  May,  just  to  see  that  they  had  been  rightly  planned,  and  to 
talk  over  matters  on  the  ground.  More  recently  I  have  visited 
them,  and  seen  the  solid  work  which  has  been  put  into  them 
during  the  past  three  months  ;  and  though  more  work  is  still 
required  on  the  Dialah  and  the  Euphrates,  our  advanced  positions 
on  the  Tigris  should  enable  us  to  give  the  Turks  a  warm  reception, 
and  even  our  more  retired  positions  are  well  in  hand.  I  want  to 
get  these  pivots  as  strong  as  possible,  so  that  we  may  be  able 
to  hold  them  comparatively  lightly  in  men,  but  strongly  with 
machine  guns  and  other  defensive  appliances,  so  as  to  liberate 
the  bulk  of  our  forces  for  mobile  action.  1  am  afraid  that  the 
Turks  have  the  legs  of  us  when  it  comes  to  marching,  but  I  have 
robbed  this  as  thoroughly  as  I  can  into  all  subordinate  com- 
manders, and  I  hope  that  we  are  improving  in  this  respect. 
Extreme  mobility  is  what  will  pay  in  the  forthcoming  operations. 
It  i h<-  mi-! ii \  t in'-  tu  &U  down  and  entrench  close  to  us  1  hope  to 
wt  bach  him  and  knock  him  out  before  he  can  dig  himself  in  ;  and, 
similarly,  if  he  I  ties  t<>  march  round  as  we  mus1  go  for  him  at  once. 

I  only  hope  that   hi'  will  be  bold  enough  to  attack  our  positions, 

forlcannot  help  feeling  thai  if  he  does  he  will  suffer  very  severely . 
Oneoi  tin-  points  to  which  I  paid  particular  attention  throughout 
the  summer  has  been  the  preparation  of  means  of  crossing  the 


120  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

rivers  rapidly,  for  Avith  three  river  lines  on  our  front  ample 
facilities  for  this  are  essential.  So  we  have  formed  two  mobile 
bridging  trains,  each  capable  of  spanning  a  river  500  yards  wide, 
instead  of  one  with  a  capacity  of  400  yards,  which  we  had 
last  year.  I  have  two  other  bridging  trains,  not  mobile,  each 
also  capable  of  spanning  a  river  500  yards  wide.  Then,  in  ad- 
dition to  this,  we  have  constructed  seven  permanent  bridges 
over  the  Dialah,  and  hope  to  make  two  or  three  more  during  the 
next  few  weeks,  whilst  on  the  Euphrates  we  have  got  the  use  of 
three  permanent  bridges  already,  and  are  adding  to  these.  I 
have  also  now  turned  my  attention  to  the  Shatt  el  Ahdaim, 
and  we  have  devised  a  scheme  by  which  each  Corps  will  carry 
a  certain  amount  of  bridging  material  for  spanning  small 
canals. 

I  have  visited  the  Cavalry  division  and  three  of  the  five  other 
divisions  recently,  and  the  troops  are  in  rousing  spirits  and  full 
of  fight.  We  had  a  baddish  time  for  a  fortnight  in  the  middle 
of  July  when  the  heat  -  wave  beat  all  records  for  Bagdad  as 
regards  temperature,  and  even  the  strongest  succumbed  in  many 
cases.  More  recently,  too,  we  have  had  a  less  severe  heat-wave, 
but  I  hope  that  these  are  now  over,  and  that  the  weather  will 
become  appreciably  cooler  before  long.  Compared  to  last  year 
our  sick  list  has  been  very  small,  and  indeed — except  for  the 
heat-waves— almost  negligible.  Epidemics  such  as  cholera  and 
scurvy  have  been  conspicuous  by  their  absence,  and  altogether 
we  have  been  very  lucky  in  this  respect.  As  soon  as  the  weather 
gets  cooler  the  troops  will  come  on  by  leaps  and  bounds  ;  and 
judging  by  the  start  which  they  have  now  got  in  condition,  as 
compared  to  last  year,  they  ought  to  be  fit  to  fight  for  their  lives 
in  the  next  few  weeks. 

Before  we  began  operations  last  winter  I  impressed  upon  my 
D.M.S.  the  necessity  for  keeping  every  man  that  it  was  possible 
to  keep  in  the  country,  instead  of  evacuating  the  sick  broadcast, 
as  I  found  was  being  done  when  I  was  down  at  Basra  last 
autumn.  He  entered  whole-heartedty  into  the  idea,  with  the 
result  that  we  have  kept  in  the  country  and  returned  to  the  ranks 
over  113,000  men  since  January  1st,  which  I  think  you  will  admit 
is  pretty  good.  Our  hospitals  are  excellent  considering  where  we 
are,  and  I  often  wish  that  people  from  England  could  come  and 
see  them,  and  see  how  the  troops  are  looked  after  in  them. 


1917]         COMMUNICATIONS  IMPROVED  121 

Those  which  we  have  made  in  Bagdad  are  in  cool,  airy  buildings, 
and  with  facilities  such  as  electric  fans,  ice,  soda  water,  eggs, 
fowls,  etc.,  in  abundance. 

Our  communications  now  are  most  satisfactory.  There  is 
occasionally  congestion  at  the  Port  of  Basra,  but  we  are  doing 
our  best,  and  with  some  success,  to  develop  the  Port  to  meet  the 
needs  of  our  increasing  numbers,  and  we  can  now  handle  sufficient 
tonnage  there  monthly  to  fulfil  our  requirements.  The  only 
cause  for  anxiety  is  whether  sufficient  shipping  can  be  provided 
to  put  our  requirements  into  the  Port,  but  there  is  no  reason  at 
present  to  suppose  that  we  shall  be  stinted  in  this  respect.  Our 
river  Meet  is  doing  magnificently  ;  the  river  is  about  at  its  lowest 
at  present,  and  still  shows  signs  of  falling,  but  only  very,  very 
slightly  now.  Still,  groundings  are  infrequent,  and  I  cannot 
speak  too  highly  of  the  way  in  which  the  Inland  Water  Trans- 
port have  run  this  important  part  of  our  communication.  The 
channels  are  constantly  changing,  and  most  accurate  buoying  is 
therefore  necessary,  and  the  absence  of  stoppages  on  the  river 
redounds  considerably  to  the  credit  of  all  concerned.  We  have 
had  to  juggle,  of  course,  a  good  deal  with  loading  our  steamers, 
that  is  to  say,  we  have  had  to  lighten  the  loads  as  the  river  fell ; 
but  by  putting  the  shallow  draft  ships  on  the  upper  reaches, 
which  are  the  worst,  and  by  lightening  the  loads  all  through,  we 
have  got  on  so  far  quite  well. 

The  Kut-Bagdad  railway  is  now  proving  useful  as  an  auxiliary 
to  the  river  fleet,  for  it  is  above  Kut  that  we  have  expected  most 
of  our  difficulties.  When  we  first  got  into  Bagdad  it  was  urged 
that  we  should  run  a  2'  6"  line  from  Kut  here,  but  I  would  not 
hear  of  it  ;  and  I  am  glad  that  I  stuck  to  my  point,  for  such  a  line 
would  have  been  little  or  no  use  to  us,  whereas  with  our  metre 
gauge  we  are  actually  moving  800  tons  a  day  on  this  bit  of  line, 
and  hope  to  get  it  up  to  over  900  tons  in  a  week  or  so.  The  rail- 
way problem  is  a  most  pressing  question  just  now.  India  is 
always  urging  me  to  complete  the  link  from  Amaru  to  Kut,  which, 
on  paper  seems  irery  advisable,  and  which  naturally  T  should  like 
to  have  if  other  demands  were  not  more  urgent.  But  it  is  not 
really  essential  with  our  fleet  and  the  way  that  we  can  ring  the 
changes  between  our  light  draft  and  our  deep  draft  steamers 
Bad  the  Kuma  Amara  and  Kut-Bagdad  railways.  For  in- 
stance, if  the  river  fails  tie  above  Kut  we  can  ooncentrate  all  the 


122  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

steamers  on  the  lower  reaches,  and  run  the  things  through  en- 
tirely by  rail  from  Kut  by  bringing  up  more  rolling  stock  from 
the  Kurna-Amara  line  to  the  Kut-Bagdad  line.  But  the  point 
where  we  must  have  railway  development  is  round  Bagdad, 
and  in  advance  of  it,  and  in  my  opinion  it  is  quite  out  of 
the  question  to  tackle  anything  like  the  Arnara-Kut  section 
till  our  needs  are  fully  met  round  here.  As  it  is,  I  cannot  get 
material  and  rolling  stock  half  as  fast  as  I  should  like,  and  for 
want  of  better  material  I  have  had  to  run  a  2'  6"  line  out  to 
Baqubah,  and  on  towards  Shahraban.  This  I  want  to  replace 
with  metre  gauge  as  soon  as  I  can  get  the  necessary  material  and 
additional  rolling  stock  up.  Then,  again,  there  are  the  extensions 
to  the  Bagdad -Samarrah  standard  gauge,  which  are  most  press- 
ing. We  have  made  a  branch  line  out  towards  Sadiyeh,  and  now 
we  want  to  link  up  the  Euphrates,  not  only  to  facilitate  the  move- 
ment of  troops,  but  also  the  bringing  in  of  supplies  from  that 
fertile  district.  As  regards  the  Bagdad-Samarrah  railway  I 
think  the  Turks  thought  that  they  had  destroyed  all  their  engines, 
but  we  have  already  patched  up  five  of  their  largest,  and  they  are 
running  merrily,  and  we  hope  to  renovate  some  more.  The 
Basra-Kurna  line  should  be  open  this  month,  and  that  will 
make  a  through  line  from  Nasariyeh,  via  Basra,  to  Amara. 
Later  on  I  shall  naturally  be  pleased  to  have  the  link  from 
Amara  to  Kut  completed — but  not  at  the  expense  of  our  rail- 
way developments  round  here,  which  will  be  invaluable  in  meet- 
ing the  requirements  of  the  Army  and  lightening  the  strain  thrown 
on  our  transport. 

Our  situation  as  regards  supplies  and  munitions  is  quite  satis- 
factory. I  have  instituted  a  Directorate  of  Local  Resources, 
which  is  now  a  huge  concern,  and  is  bringing  under  control  the 
whole  of  the  resources  of  the  country  as  regards  every  sort  of 
article.  In  supplies  alone  we  are  getting  an  average  of  200  tons 
daily  in  and  around  Bagdad,  but  mainly  from  the  Euphrates, 
and  this,  as  you  can  realise,  is  good  business.  We  have  also 
worked  out  a  big  scheme  for  placing  an  area  under  cultivation 
at  once,  which  will  satisfy  the  needs  of  the  whole  Army  next  year 
as  regards  grain  and  fodder.  It  means  a  considerable  outlay 
in  money,  but  we  shall  get  it  back  with  interest  ;  and  after  all  it 
is  one  of  the  first  principles  in  war  to  live  on  the  country  as  far 
as  possible.     Besides,  as  shipping  is  at  present  a  difficulty,  and 


1917]  MAUDE  ON  THE  TURKS  123 

from  many  other  aspects,  it  should  have  a  far-reaching  effect 
even  outside  Mesopotamia.  As  I  am  satisfied  that  it  is  a  good 
business-like  proposition,  I  have  issued  orders  to  carry  on  pend- 
ing sanction  to  the  whole  scheme,  as  every  moment  is  of  value 
in  getting  the  area  under  cultivation. 

To  facilitate  the  supply  situation  later  when  we  become  busy, 
I  am  placing  well-stocked  magazines  at  important  centres,  and 
especially  at  our  posts  wide  on  the  flank,  for  these  can  be  filled 
to  a  great  extent  locally,  and  so  they  do  not  interfere  with  the 
current  maintenance  of  the  Army. 

Things  are  still  quiet,  generally  speaking,  on  our  front,  but  no 
doubt,  as  with  us,  so  with  the  other  side,  reorganisation  and 
preparation  are  going  on.  We  have  most  recent  information 
that  the  railway  has  not  yet  reached  Nisibin,  and  though  the 
War  Office  seem  to  think  that  it  has  reached  a  point  further  east, 
we  are  pretty  confident  that  we  are  right.  However,  the  matter 
is  not  one  of  very  great  importance,  because  we  are  both  agreed 
that  the  railway  will  probably  reach  Mosul  in  the  next  few 
months.  We  have  had  information  from  time  to  time  that 
some  eleven  divisions  are  coming  down  here  in  addition  to  the 
five  which  are  now  opposed  to  us  and  the  Russians  in  our 
immediate  neighbourhood,  but  there  is  little  which  can  be  said 
to  be  absolutely  reliable  so  far.  No  doubt  the  Turks  will  be  able 
to  maintain  such  numbers  without  difficulty,  for  their  troops  can 
subsist  on  little.  It  is  the  transport  difficulty  which  they  will 
find,  I  expect,  their  real  trouble,  though  this  may  be  minimised 
to  a  certain  extent  by  importing  a  huge  fleet  of  motor  lorries, 
which  will  be  most  useful  except  when  the  ground  is  wet.  Whether 
they  have  got  the  vehicles  and  the  petrol  and  the  spares,  and  can 
afford  to  send  them  here,  I  am,  of  course,  unable  to  say.  Their 
advance  will  probably  be  on  three  lines, — the  Dialah,  Tigris,  and 
Euphrates— and  I  should  imagine  in  the  nature  of  an  enveloping 
one.  This  will  give  us  the  advantage  of  interior  lines,  though 
our  advantages  in  this  respect  will  be  minimised  by  the  fact  that 
Bagdad  is  a  difficult  city  to  defend,  as  the  Turks  found  when 
they  evacuated  it,  and  in  order  to  protect  it  adequately  one 
requires  some  spare  to  manoeuvre.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  -we 
pushed  forward  in  1 1 1  r -  firsl  place  to  Samarrah  and  Eeluja,  and 
more  recently  to  Shahr;iban  and  Beled  Ruz,  when  the  Russians 
left  DJ  in  the  lurch. 

1  had  hoped  thai  we  should  be  able  to  take  the  offensive  all 

VOL.   II.  K 


i24  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

along  the  line, — here,  Gaza,  Sulamaniyeh,  Lake  Urmia,  and  the 
Caucasus — and  this,  in  my  opinion,  would  be  the  best  defence  for 
Bagdad.  But  owing  to  the  hopeless  state  in  which  the  Russians 
are,  our  powers  in  this  respect  are  obviously  limited.  Still,  I  have 
not  even  yet  lost  all  hope  of  coaxing  the  Russians  forward  ;  and 
even  if  they  will  reoccupy  the  line  of  the  Dialah,  and,  better  still, 
push  on  to  Kifri,  and  if  they  will  come  down  resolutely  on  Sula- 
maniyeh and  Rowanduz,  it  will  be  all  to  the  good,  and  save  us  a 
certain  amount  of  responsibility  as  regards  our  right  flank.  But 
at  present  they  seem  such  a  rabble  that  it  is  difficult  to  expect 
much  from  them. 

So  far  as  hostile  arrivals  on  our  front  are  concerned,  troops  keep 
dribbling  in,  but  in  no  great  numbers  so  far ;  but  what  is  more 
significant  is  the  arrival  of  a  certain  proportion  of  German  and 
Austrian  specialists. 

There  is  much  more  that  I  could  write,  but  time  will  not  permit 
as  I  am  so  busy.  I  have  written  fairly  openly  as  regards  our 
plans,  as  I  know  that  they  will  interest  you,  but  I  feel  sure  that 
you  will  treat  the  various  points  with  the  discretion  they  deserve. 
— Yours  sincerely,  F.  S.  Maude. 

From  Major-General  C.  G.  Briggs : 

Headquarters, 

16th  Corps, 

Salonika  Army,  13$  October  1917. 

My  dear  Repington, — Thanks  so  very  many  for  your  most 
interesting  letter  of  the  8th  September. 

Throughout  the  war  I  have  frequently  thought  how  much  I 
should  like  an  hour  or  two's  chat  with  you,  more  especially  when 
the  optimists  were  on  the  buck.  I  have  always  read  with  deep 
interest  all  your  articles  in  the  Times,  and  enjoyed  how  you 
quietly  poured  cold  water  on  them,  and  tried  to  make  them 
realise  that  words  will  not  win  a  war,  but  solid  fighting  only. 
Had  I  been  home  since  the  commencement,  I  should  have  made 
a  point  of  looking  you  up,  as  there  is  so  much  I  wanted  to  ask  you 
about. 

I  am  very  fit  and  well,  thanks,  and  have  not  missed  a  day  so 
far.  I  am  not  out  here  by  choice,  and  have  not  expressed  a  desire 
so  far  to  be  anywhere,  or  to  do  anything  to  my  liking.  I  have 
only  tried  to  do  my  duty,  as  all  soldiers  should  in  a  war  like  this. 


1917]  BRIGGS  AT  SALONIKA  125 

I  have  been  commanding  this  Corps  since  May  1916.  Have  a 
vast  front  (70  miles)  and  large  sphere  of  influence,  any  amount 
to  do,  and  have  averaged  thirty  miles  a  day  on  horseback.  I 
know  you  loathe !  the  Salonika  Army,  and  so  do  many  more,  but 
it  is  very  hard  luck  on  us  who  have  pulled  more  than  double  our 
weight  for  the  past  eighteen  months,  and  sometimes  three  times. 
Had  we  the  troops  and  guns  you  Mould  very  soon  see  the  Bulgar 
fly.  He  is  a  clean  and  honest  fighter,  but  has  no  heart  in  the 
war.  If  he  had  one  real  knock,  I  am  sure  the  troops  would  not 
put  up  another  fight.  Twice  here  I  felt  sure  that  with  another 
fresh  division  and  a  regular  cavalry  brigade  I  could  have  kept 
him  on  the  move. 

I  have  always  felt  that  had  Rumania  been  put  in  at  the  right 
time  and  properly  backed  by  the  Russians,  we  should  have  cut 
the  Bodies  off  from  Bulgaria  and  Turkey,  and  ended  the  Eastern 
question  once  and  for  all.  Both  the  Bulgar  and  the  Turk,  if 
isolated,  would,  in  my  opinion,  be  delighted  to  make  peace.  I 
used  to  have  Turks  here  ;  they  were  bold  patrollers,  but  loved  an 
excuse  to  be  captured,  the  same  as  the  Bulgar.  Many  and 
many  prisoners  have  said,  '  If  you  could  only  attack  us  we  should 
glory  in  the  excuse  of  surrendering.'  Were  we  to  abandon  this 
country  and  leave  the  poor  Serb  to  his  own  devices,  as  he  would 
not  now  come  back  he  would  make  peace,  and  our  name  would 
stink  in  the  nostrils  of  every  one  in  the  Balkans. 

The  Greek  question  is  a  very  difficult  one.  .  .  .  Every  one  in 
the  Balkans  is  heartily  sick  of  war,  they  have  had  so  much  of  it. 
Again,  the  small  States  who  have  joined  us  so  far,  certainly 
have  had  cause  to  regret  their  decision,  as  we  generally  appear 
to  leave  them  to  the  wolves.  Remember  how  hard  it  is  for 
us  out  lure  in  this  climate  to  be  jeered  at  for  not  fighting  more. 
1  u  ish  you  could  come  out  here  and  see  for  yourself. 

Well,  good  luck  to  you.  I  hope  you  can  read  my  scrawl. — 
Yours  sincerely,  C.  G.  Briggs. 

Monday,  Oct.  29.  Dined  with  Mrs.  Harry  Higgins, 
Lady  Coates,  Marjorie,  and  the  Murrays. 

Tuuday,  Oct.  30.  Lunched  with  Lord  Edward,  formerly 
Count  Gleichen,  at  35  Catherine  Street,  Buckingham  Gate, 
to  talk  over  information  with  him  and  Headlam— mainly 

'  To  loathe  ill'-  poli»  ■•  "i  Salonika  wai  not  to  loathe  the  long-suffering 

Army. 


126  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

about  Russia  and  the  question  of  the  Kaiser's  responsi- 
bility for  the  war.  Headlam  much  interested  about  Von 
Leipzig's  visit  to  me  at  the  end  of  July  1914,  and  thinks 
that  it  may  supply  the  missing  link  in  the  evidence. 

Wednesday,  Oct.  31.  At  12.15  at  night  an  air  raid  warn- 
ing. At  1.15  they  began  to  arrive  in  relays,  and  firing 
went  on  till  2.15,  breaking  out  again  more  than  once  as 
fresh  raiders  appeared :  the  '  All  Clear  '  was  sounded  by 
the  bugles  at  about  3.15  a.m.  I  could  see  nothing,  for 
though  the  moon  was  full  last  night  the  sky  this  morning 
was  obscured  by  fleecy  clouds  in  parts.  The  servants 
went  below  for  shelter. 

Thursday,  Nov.  1.  Attended  the  funeral  service  for 
Gladys,  Lady  Ripon.  A  sad  break  of  a  link  with  the 
past.  The  most  wonderful  and  beautiful  woman,  with 
rare  distinction,  unconquerable  high  spirits,  and  in  her 
youth  a  joie  de  vivre  and  vivacity  unimaginable.  A  good 
friend  too,  and  was  always  the  same  to  me  from  first  to 
last.  Poor  Ripon  dreadfully  sad  and  Lady  Juliet  in  despair. 
Most  of  the  Herbert  relations  at  the  service,  and  many 
friends. 

Friday,  Nov.  2.  Saw  Sammy  Scott  in  the  morning,  and 
we  put  our  heads  together  about  the  set  being  made  at 
the  General  Staff  by  the  Manchester  Guardian,  Evening 
Standard,  and  other  papers,  all  the  attacks  obviously  in- 
spired from  the  same  source,  and  no  one  doubts  that  Down- 
ing Street  is  this  source.  Lunched  with  Lady  Islington. 
Went  on  later  to  see  Marlowe,  editor  of  the  Daily  Mail, 
and  discussed  the  General  Staff  attacks.  Northcliffe  due 
back  in  a  week  or  two  from  America,  and  we  hope  to  fend 
off  a  crisis  till  he  comes.  Saw  Freeman  in  Dawson's  absence, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  I  should  write  about  the  attacks. 
Steed  is  furious  with  the  War  Office,  and  pours  into  me  over 
the  telephone  a  stream  of  vituperation,  but  I  can't  make 
out  what  he  wants.  The  Italian  affair,  which  began  on 
Oct.  23,  has  resulted  in  a  great  smash,  and  Cadorna  is  back 
behind  the  Tagliamento,  with  a  loss  of  180,000  prisoners 
and  1500  guns.     We  and  the  French  are  sending  divisions, 


1917]  CAPORETTO  127 

but  the  whole  affair  looks  very  bad.  Cadorna  assured  us 
before  the  attack  that  he  and  his  generals  were  confident 
of  success.  They  had  a  superiority  of  200,000  men,  but 
the  2nd  Italian  Army  allowed  the  Germans,  six  divisions, 
to  run  over  them,  and  surrendered  in  a  wholesale  manner, 
defending  themselves  feebly.  Robertson  is  in  Italy. 
Most  people  seem  to  have  lost  their  heads  like  Steed,  and 
to  be  busy  abusing  everybody  else.  Pat  Cox  and  Villiers, 
Milne's  military  secretary,  came  up  to  Maryon  to  discuss 
Salonika.  They  agree  that  if  a  couple  of  German  divi- 
sions arrive  to  encourage  the  Bulgars,  we  may  be  driven 
back  upon  the  Birdcage  position,  close  around  Salonika, 
but  they  say  that  we  can  hold  on  there.  They  put  us  down 
now,  after  the  recent  reductions,  at  40,000  rifles,  the  French 
about  the  same,  the  Serbs  25,000,  and  one  Italian  division 
and  the  Russians,  about  120,000  rifles  in  all.  I  have  been 
writing  on  the  Italian  and  the  Palestine  campaigns.  Allenby 
took  Beersheba  on  Nov.  1,  and  has  evidently  begun  hie  big 
attack  :  he  took  1800  prisoners  and  some  guns. 

Saturday,  Nov.  3.  The  dead  set  being  made  at  Robertson 
and  the  General  Staff  continues.  David  Da  vies  began  it 
in  the  Sunday  Times  three  weeks  ago.  Then  Scott  and  the 
Manchester  Guardian  took  it  up  this  week,  Monday  and 
Thursday,  while  the  Evening  Standard's  London  diary  man 
is  also  hard  at  it.  Complete  ignorance  and  rank  injustice 
are  the  characteristics  of  these  attacks,  which  display  a 
common  origin  and  imply  an  attempt  to  create  a  fictitious 
public  opinion.  Macpherson's  answer  to  a  question  in  the 
H.  of  C.  on  Thursday  last  should  dispose  of  the  question 
whether  Cadorna  asked  our  help.  It  is  well  known  that  he 
expressed  his  complete  confidence  in  being  able  to  beat  off 
the  attack. 

Dined  with  Lady  Ridley  at  Tenterden  Street.  A  pleasant 
little  party.  Cyril  Ward  told  us  many  interesting  things 
about  North  Sea  flotilla  work.  General  Sykes  handed  the 
Y'!_"'t;iU.-  round  owing  to  Bhortage  of  servants,  t<>  Ward's 
great  delight.  He  said  that  he  had  always  longed  to  be 
waited  00  by  a  general.    I  find  thai  Robertson  has  made 


128  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

some  enemies  by  his  treatment  of  David  Henderson  and 
Brancker.  Lady  Ridley  missed  the  Piccadilly  bomb  by 
only  three  minutes.     The  police  stopped  her. 

Sunday,  Nov.  4.  Allenby  has  captured  the  first  Turkish 
line  of  defence  at  Gaza  and  has  beaten  off  Turkish  counter- 
attacks with  much  loss  to  the  enemy.  A  divine  day. 
Dined  with  Lady  Scarbrough.  Lady  Ridley,  Lady  London- 
derry, General  Lawson,  and  the  American  Military  Attache 
General  Lassiter  also  there.  Agreeable  as  always.  We  had 
a  great  pow-wow  afterwards  about  war  aims  and  how 
to  attain  them.  Lady  R.  opposing  us  all  in  turn  as  her 
manner  is,  but  hitting  the  nails  on  the  head  as  usual.  Lady 
L.,  at  dinner,  told  us  about  her  Middle  Park  triumph.  She 
is  not  returning  from  Lumley  for  another  month. 

Monday,  Nov.  5.  Lunched  with  Evelyn  FitzGerald  at 
his  rooms.  Jack  Cowans  and  Sutherland,  the  P.M.'s 
secretary,  also  there.  I  attacked  the  latter  at  once  about 
the  beastly  things  that  were  being  said  about  the  General 
Staff,  and  told  him  how  it  was  alienating  many  of  L.  G.'s 
friends.  His  reply  was  very  amusing  and  significant.  We 
told  him  that  the  Army  was  greatly  under  establishment, 
that  the  Allied  War  Council  was  eye-wash,  and  that  the 
only  thing  that  mattered  was  to  raise  fresh  divisions  and 
make  up  the  deficit  in  our  ranks.  He  tells  us  that 
David  Da  vies  has  been  fired  out,  and  that  after  he  had 
written  many  severe  letters  to  L.  G.,  the  latter  had  sent 
one  to  D.  D.  which  sent  him  to  bed  for  three  weeks  with  a 
nervous  breakdown.  S.  surprised  at  the  number  of  things 
we  told  him  which  he  did  not  know.  He  was  amusing  about 
the  cringing  letters  of  the  applicants  for  office  and  honours. 

Went  to  see  Lady  Beresford  and  had  a  good  talk  with  her 
and  the  Admiral.  He  knew  nothing  of  the  minefield.  He 
is  taking  up  Havelock  Wilson  and  his  crowd  very  warmly. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  6.  Went  to  see  a  friend  at  the  F.O.  He 
says  that  the  Greek  princes  who  came  here  all  lied  about 
Tino  and  his  assumed  love  for  the  Allies,  which  has  been 
exposed  by  the  letters  and  wires  now  revealed.  He  says 
that  the  Greek  Royal  Family  are  now  done  for  here  and  will 


1917]  THE  INTER-ALLIED  STAFF  129 

always  be  accounted  Bodies.     He  never  trusted  them.     He 

also  mistrusts  the  new  Greek  divisions,  and  agrees  that  the 
Huns  will  come  down  on  us  at  Salonika,  and  wishes  us  to 
withdraw  to  the  Birdcage  position.  He  was  surprised  to 
hear  of  our  deficit  in  men,  and  was  anxious  about  the  Italians. 
He  is  very  sarcastic  about  the  Inter-Allied  Staff,  and  asks 
whom  will  they  advise,  and  will  they  have  any  executive 
power  I  He  lilies  the  look  of  things  no  more  than  I  do.  I 
have  put  my  ideas  on  paper  for  the  Times,  and  G.  D.  has  not 
published  them.  My  F.O.  friend  says  that  Balfour  is  the 
only  statesman  of  the  lot  of  them. 

Wednesday,  Nov.  7.  Went  to  see  Winston  in  the  after- 
noon. He  assures  me  that  Foch  was  misinformed,  and 
that  we  are  to  have  a  big  rise  in  guns,  aeroplanes,  etc., 
next  year,  but  all  depends  on  his  retaining  his  labour. 
He  is  as  much  for  the  Inter-Allied  Staff  as  I  am  against 
it.  We  talked  of  the  Second  Dardanelles  Report  which 
is  soon  coming  out .  I  saw  a  lot  of  leading  soldiers  home 
from  France.  They  all  hate  the  Inter-Allied  Staff  like  the 
devil.  We  are  greatly  down  in  men  on  balance,  and  the 
War  Cabinet  continues  to  do  nothing  because  nobody  can 
expose  it.  It  is  thought  that  Italy  has  220  good  battalions, 
and  may  hope  to  hold  the  Piave.  The  French  divisions 
will  get  there  in  a  few  days,  and  ours  by  November  20. 
Each  of  the  two  lines  of  rail  can  support  ten  divisions  in  the 
field.  I  learnl  that  Cadorna,  Foch,  and  H.  Wilson  are  to 
be  the  trio  of  the  Inter-Allied  Staff  at  Paris.  My  editor  is 
withholding  from  publication  my  opinions  on  the  failure  of 
the  War  Cabinet  to  produce  the  necessary  military  force. 
We  are  very  short  of  a  Delane  just  now.  However,  I  am 
asked  to  address  the  1900  Club  again,  and  they  shall  learn 
the  tint  li  a  I  any  rate. 

'rhur.-ihiij,  Nov.  8.  Wen!  on  to  see  a  short  dramatic 
play.  The  \'Ml*  Chair,  which  thrilled  us.  Doris  Keane  and 
Gladys    (Jngei   in    B    box.     'liny    were    both   enthralled    by 

tin-  play,  in  which  Mrs.  Pat.  Campbell  takes  the  chief  part 
and  ad  -  righi  well. 

/•'/  "I'tij,  Nov.  9.    Allenby  has  taken  Gaza  and  40  Turkish 


i3o  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

guns.  The  Turkish  Army  is  in  general  retreat.  Went  on 
to  see  the  German  postcards,  books,  and  caricatures  at 
Strand  House,  Portugal  Street,  a  collection  made  by  the 
Censorship  which  has  looted  the  mails.  Very  interesting. 
Coarse  but  virile,  and  often  very  funny.  The  King  has 
recently  inspected  them.  Held  up  in  the  Strand  by  the 
Lord  Mayor's  Show  which  was  passing.  Some  good  Domin- 
ion detachments  and  a  lot  of  captured  guns  and  other  war 
material.  But  rather  a  tin -pot  affair  on  the  whole,  and 
the  banquet  to-day  has  provoked  criticism  and  ridicule. 

Saturday,  Nov.  10.  An  official  announcement  is  made 
that  '  a  Supreme  Political  Council  of  the  Allies  for  the 
whole  of  the  Western  Front  '  is  created,  and  that  this 
Council  is  to  be  assisted  by  a  permanent  central  military 
committee  consisting  of  Foch,  Cadorna,  and  H.  Wilson. 
General  Diaz,  with  whom  I  messed  at  Udine  last  year, 
succeeds  Cadorna  in  the  Command  in  Italy.  A  good 
choice,  but  what  a  position  !  In  Russia  the  Extremists  of 
the  Soviet  are  now  in  control  at  Petrograd,  and  Kerensky 
has  left  the  capital.  I  went  down  for  the  week-end  to 
Mrs.  Ronny  Greville's  house,  Polesden-Lacey,  near  Bookham, 
and  found  a  party  consisting  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKenna, 
Mrs.  Peto,  M.  Mouravieff  Apostol  and  his  wife,  Mrs.  George 
Keppel,  Sir  Ernest  Cassel,  M.  Bardac,  and  Lord  Ilchester. 
A  most  comfortable  house,  and  everything  exceedingly 
well  done.  A  very  cheery  party  and  a  perfect  hostess. 
We  walked,  golfed,  and  talked.  The  Mouravieffs  pleasant 
people  and  are  running  a  hospital  in  London.  McKenna 
and  I  agree  in  our  dislike  of  the  new  Allied  military  com- 
mittee. No  committee  ever  yet  won  a  war,  though  some 
have  lost  wars.  Sir  Ernest  declares  that  since  America 
came  in,  it  has  made  all  the  difference  in  finance,  and  that 
we  can  go  on  for  a  couple  of  years.  We  owe  the  money 
to  our  own  people,  and,  like  Germany,  can  carry  on  for 
this  reason. 

The  house  was  completed  in  1913  by  the  present  owner. 
It  has  fine  grounds  and  might  be  a  hundred  miles  from  any- 
where instead  of  only  twenty-two  miles  from  London.     The 


1917]        ROBERTSON  ON  THE  CHANGES         131 

woods  are  very  beautiful.  We  almost  decided  to  resurrect 
the  idea  of  The  Gauntlet.  The  baths  have  a  fine  assortment 
of  salts  and  ointments  and  scented  waters  for  the  bather 
to  select  from.  This  reminded  Mrs.  McKenna  of  Lord 
D'Abernon,  who  says  that  when  he  stays  with  a  Jew  he 
always  pours  the  whole  of  the  bath  salts  into  his  tub  as 
a  protest  against  the  Crucifixion  ! 

Monday,  Nov.  12.  Lunched  with  Robertson,  just  back 
from  Italy.  He  had  written  to  say  that  I  needed  no  telling 
of  the  meaning  of  the  new  Paris  Military  Committee. 
He  says  that  he  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  setting 
up  the  new  machinery.  It  was  all,  he  says,  decided  in  his 
absence,  and  he  had  never  been  asked  for  his  opinion, 
nor  had  an  opportunity  of  giving  it,  as  the  thing  was 
approved  before  he  saw  it.  We  talked  it  over  at  and 
after  lunch.  R.  says  that  the  debdcle  in  Italy  was  inde- 
scribable. Our  gunners  got  their  heavies  back,  man- 
handling them  in  part,  but  lost  all  their  ammunition,  plant, 
and  stores.  The  four  French  divisions  are  towards  Verona  : 
ours  are  more  to  the  south,  and  some  going  towards  Padua. 
A  station  north  of  Genoa  is  our  base.  There  were  awful 
rows  between  the  French  and  Italians  about  the  places 
where  the  French  should  detrain.  We  have  four  divisions 
on  the  way  and  now  arriving.  The  two  railways  are  giving 
sixty  trains  a  day  between  them,  and  all  works  smoothly  on 
the  lines.  But  we  have  only  the  two  lines,  via  Mt.  Cenis 
and  the  Riviera,  while  the  enemy  has  five  towards  the  Isonzo, 
and  also  the  Trentino  line.  The  more  we  send  and  the 
greater  we  make  the  war  in  Italy,  the  greater  will  be  the 
enemy's  advantage  in  view  of  the  Italian  Army  collapse. 
A  very  bad  look-out,  and  R.  thinks  that  we  may  have  to 
send  twelve  divisions,  and  that  we  shall  then  be  on  the  de- 
fensive in  France.  He  also  says  that  Salonika  is  ripe  for 
a  Boche  harvest,  as  I  think. 

We  talked  O^er  the  Paris  plan,  and  are  both  con- 
temptuous of  mnlriwg  war  by  committee.  R.  assures  me 
tli.it  Baig  saw  the  P.M..  Sunday  week,  and  was  asked 
what  lie  thought  of  it.    Hiaig  eritioised  it  severely.    Some 


i32  WAE  BY  COMMITTEE 

very  crisp  remarks  on  each  side  followed.  I  can  take  it 
that  the  G.H.Q.  are  as  much  opposed  to  the  Versailles 
Military  Committee  as  we  are.  R.  is  sure  that  Eric  Geddes 
and  the  Admiralty  would  not  allow  a  naval  officer  to  act 
as  Wilson  is  to  act.  The  course  R.  proposes  to  take  is  to 
have  the  whole  situation  better  denned,  and  then  to  en- 
deavour to  make  the  thing  work,  a  course  of  which  I 
approved,  as  a  schism  between  the  politicians  and  the 
soldiers  would  be  fatal  in  such  a  grave  crisis.  R.  says  that 
L.  G.  is  fed  up  with  him,  but  the  course  which  the  P.M. 
has  adopted  is  foolish,  for  to  separate  the  duties  of  advising 
and  executing  is  sure  to  lead  to  trouble.  It  appears  that 
Petain  dislikes  the  scheme  as  much  as  we  do,  but  Paris  is 
in  ecstasies  at  being  made  the  head  centre  of  the  war,  and 
L.  G.  is  being  entertained  to-day  at  a  banquet  in  Paris. 
Went  down  to  the  Times  and  talked  to  Dawson,  Wilton, 
Fraser,  and  Scott.  Told  Dawson  of  my  grave  objection  to 
the  Paris  Military  Committee  and  of  the  fact  that  Robert- 
son and  Haig  are  both  warmly  opposed  to  it. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  13.  This  morning  comes  the  report  of 
our  P.M.'s  astonishing  speech  at  the  Paris  luncheon,  in 
which  he  castigated  every  one  concerned  in  the  past  conduct 
of  the  war  except  himself,  and  exalted  himself  as  the  only 
wise  man.  A  dreadful,  self-righteous  speech,  with  severe 
indictment  of  the  soldiers,  but  not  by  name.  I  suppose 
that  he  saw  part  of  the  Italian  debandade  and  was  rattled 
by  it.  The  announcement  is  made  that  a  '  Supreme  ' 
Political  Council  of  the  Allies  and  an  advisory  military 
committee  of  Foch,  Cadorna,  and  Wilson  have  been  created 
at  Paris.  I  write  an  article,  mainly  on  the  committee  of 
the  soldiers,  pointing  out  its  serious  dangers  and  disad- 
vantages. The  Political  Council  I  see  no  objection  to, 
but  war  by  committee  will  not  wash.  There  are  25  Italian 
divisions  on  the  Piave  with  240  heavy  guns  dug  in  and 
700  field  guns.  The  French  are  to  hold  the  hills  west  of 
Valdobbiadene,  and  part  of  the  Piave  :  we  are  to  be  on 
the  French  right  on  the  river.  Plumer  is  to  command 
our  forces.     They  would  have  done  better  to  send  Rawly, 


1917]         THE  SUPREME  WAR  COUNCIL  133 

a-  Plumcr  will  be  a  loss  to  Flanders.  All  the  soldiers  in 
despair  about  the  Allied  Advisory  Committee,  which  is  a 
moyen  detourne  to  give  L.  G.  control  of  strategy.  I  went 
down  to  the  Times  to  post  up  the  editor  in  all  these  events. 
He  had  done  better  in  his  leader  to-day,  but  is  still 
wobbling. 

Wednesday,  Nov.  14.  Lunched  with  Madame  Vandervelde 
and  met  the  new  Belgian  Minister  and  his  American  wife. 
Wrote  an  article  on  L.  G.'s  speech  in  Paris,  and  was  very 
critical  of  it.  The  P.M.  reads  out  in  the  House  of  Commons 
the  agreement  between  England,  France,  and  Italy  about 
the  '  Supreme  War  Council,'  as  it  has  now  been  called,  while 
in  France  they  talk  of  the  '  Allied  Staff.'  L.  G.  says  that 
they  are  to  have  no  executive  powers  and  no  Operations 
Branch.  Who  the  deuce  commands  the  Allied  Armies  in 
France  now,  no  one  knows.  Went  down  to  the  Times  to 
speak  to  Dawson  about  the  whole  matter.  Allenby  has 
reached  the  brook  Kedron  !  He  has  10  Turkish  divisions 
in  his  front,  but  they  have  lost  alread}T  more  than  half  their 
strength  in  men  and  guns,  thanks  to  Allenb}^  vigorous 
operations.  One  Boche  division  is  on  its  way  south  by  rail 
from  Aleppo.  We  are  now  95,000  men  down,  including 
75,000  in  France.  We  need  500,000  by  March,  of  which 
i22.">,000  are  in  sight.  Our  total  losses  in  the  war  have  been 
1,400,000,  of  these  about  500,000  in  the  operations  of  July  1 
to  November  19,  1916,  and  500,000  in  this  year's  fighting  in 
France  and  Flanders,  April  9  to  November.  We  have,  so 
far  as  I  can  recall  the  figures,  about  000,000  killed,  severely 
wounded,  and  missing. 

Friday,  Nov.  16.  Lunched  with  Lady  Cunard;  Lady 
Londonderry,  Lord  L.  Stuart,  Lady  Leslie,  Lord  Chaplin, 
and  .Mrs.  Ronny  Greville.  Was  amused  by  some  one's 
description  ol  the  Dowager  Lady  L.  as  "the  ferocious 
Lady  Londonderry.'  Young  Lady  L.  gave  me  an  amusing 
desci  i|ilinii  <>f  her  experiences  and  Lord  lierlie  Vanc-Tem- 
peet'e  at  Londonderry  Souse  <>n  the  night  of  the  last  raid. 
Lord  B.  alternating  between  rage,  dread,  and  ouriosity. 
Finally  a  shell  hit  the  fountain  in  Park  Lane,  opposite  the 


i34  WAR  BY  COMMITTEE 

house,  and  drove  them  from  the  windows.  Walked  across 
the  park  with  Lady  L.  and  talked  Ireland.  C.  appears  to 
be  doing  very  well  indeed,  as  I  knew  he  would,  and  to  be 
one  of  the  eight  of  the  inner  committee  of  the  Convention. 
Mrs.  Greville  had  told  me  that  Sidney  Greville  had  told  her 
yesterday  that  Robertson  and  Haig  had  resigned.  Went 
to  the  W.O.  to  inquire.  X.  had  heard  nothing  of  it,  and 
doubted  it,  as  I  did.  X.  says  that  few  of  the  courtier  folk, 
except  Clive  Wigram,  know  what  is  going  on.  The  King 
gets  his  own  file  of  reports  and  locks  them  up  himself. 
Wigram  also  has  his  files,  and  it  is  rare  for  others  at  the 
Palace  to  know  much.  I  saw  Lucas  afterwards,  and  then 
Robertson  for  a  few  moments.  Lucas  described  to  me  the 
fury  of  Haig's  generals  about  the  Rapallo  agreement,  and 
said  that  they  were  all  unanimous.  Robertson  has  not 
resigned,  nor  has  Haig.  But  there  is  a  public  outcry  about 
L.  G.'s  Paris  speech,  and  the  new  plan  is  riddled  with 
criticism.     We  shall  see  what  happens  on  Monday. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

Causes  of  our  shortage  of  strengths — Reasons  for  Italian  defeat — A 
talk  with  M.  Venizelos — Death  of  Sir  Stanley  Maude — Mr.  Lloyd 
George  on  the  Rapallo  Agreement — An  address  on  the  war  to  the 
1900  Club — Colonel  House — A  visit  to  Wilton — Russian  affairs — 
General  Byng's  victory  at  Cambrai — Lord  Lansdowne's  letter — A  set- 
back at  Cambrai — Strength  of  our  forces  in  different  theatres — 
'  Political  strategy ' — A  letter  from  General  Allenby  describing  his 
victory — The  German  movement  westward  in  its  first  stages — 
Admiral  Wemyss  succeeds  Admiral  Jellicoe  as  First  Sea  Lord — 
F.M.  Sir  D.  Haig  and  General  Petain  arrange  for  mutual  support — 
General  Lawrence  becomes  Chief  of  Staff  in  France — Why  Admiral 
Jellicoe  was  relieved — Mistakes  in  calculation  of  American  transport 
— A  row  in  the  War  Cabinet  about  aeroplanes — War  Cabinet  procedure 
after  a  raid  on  London — Press  manipulations — Defensive  arrange- 
ments in  France — Kavanagh  on  the  cavalry — End  of  a  dramatic  year. 

Saturday,  Nov.  17.  Called  on  Sir  Auckland  Geddes,  now 
Director  of  National  Service,  at  the  Windsor  Hotel,  Victoria 
Street,  8.W.  I  told  him  that  I  had  come  to  ask  what  balance 
we  had  in  the  man-power  bank,  and  how  much  we  could 
draw,  and  overdraw,  from  the  bank  for  the  Army.  He  said 
about  ten  to  eleven  millions  of  persons  were  now  engaged  in 
industry,  of  whom  two  millions  were  women.  Ho  could  not 
— ?  was  not  allowed  to — take  many  men  from  agriculture, 
shipyards,  railways,  mines,  or  munitions,  and  indeed  the 
claims  of  these  and  for  aircraft  meant  a  fresh  call  upon  him 
for  300,000  men  this  coming  year,  November  1917  to  October 
1918.  He  said  thai  the  look-out  for  the  Army  was  bad. 
The  Army  and  Xavy  needed  1,250,000  men  for  the  next 
twelve  months.  He  might  get  35,000  from  non-essential 
industries,  240,000  from  the  18-year-old  men  of  the  year. 
160,000  from  men  aged   13  to  50,  and   loo.OOO  by  sending 

136 


136        FIKST  MUTTEKINGS  OF  A  STORM 

out  to  fight  the  youths  of  18|  instead  of  19.  But,  all  told, 
this  only  meant  600,000  spread  out  over  the  whole  of  1918, 
which  was  but  the  half  of  the  requirements,  and  even  this 
result  could  only  be  secured  if  the  Government  faced  the 
legislation,  which  would  be  bitterly  opposed,  for  getting 
the  men  of  43  to  50.  There  would  also  be  a  tremendous 
internal  upheaval,  and  many  transfers  of  people  from  one 
business  to  another  to  be  carried  out. 

He  thought  that  most  of  the  departments  were  now 
playing  the  game,  but  said  that  a  certain  Minister  under- 
stood nothing  of  team-play  and  was  a  danger  to  the 
country  and  should  be  controlled.  He  told  me  of  a  case 
in  which  30,000  tons  of  steel  had  been  given  to  the  Ameri- 
cans to  roof  their  huts,  without  consulting  anybody, 
though  we  did  not  use  steel  for  such  a  purpose  and 
wanted  every  pound  of  it  ourselves.  It  appears  that  the 
Americans  want  us  to  produce  their  uniforms  and  boots, 
and  Geddes  is  not  yet  clear  what  is  the  best  way  to  proceed 
in  the  matter.  It  may  be  best  to  transfer  certain  factories 
bodily  to  American  Staffs.  There  are  still  1,400,000  men  at 
home,  and  he  admits  the  deficiency  of  95,000  abroad,  but, 
of  course,  the  numbers  available  for  active  home  defence 
remain  not  much  over  100,000  as  before.  Not  a  good  look- 
out, but  we  agree  that  the  Germans  are  even  worse  off.  I 
told  him  the  position  of  France,  which  he  did  not  know. 
I  asked  whether  he  was  examining  the  programmes  of 
departments  in  detail,  and  he  said  that  he  was.  We  dis- 
cussed the  question  of  reducing  the  number  of  battalions 
in  a  division.  He  is  for  it,  but  will  not  allow  that  we  can 
make  up  30  extra  divisions  in  France  out  of  64  X  3  battalions 
saved.  He  only  wants  to  raise  10  new  divisions  and  to  use 
the  balance  of  men  for  drafts.  So  we  should  be  worse  off, 
except  in  the  number  of  divisions  and  their  guns.  The 
replacing  of  the  lost  Italian  guns  will  be  a  great  strain,  and 
he  said  that  I  knew  we  were  not  so  strong  in  heavy  guns  in 
the  West  as  the  Boches,  and  that  we  contemplated  a  40  per 
cent,  increase  in  guns  next  year.  The  Boches  contemplated 
a  great  increase  in  aircraft  next  year,  and  Geddes  gave  first 


1917]  FAGALDE  ON  THE  ITALIANS  137 

place  to  our  answer  to  this.     I  agreed.     He  said  that  our 
people  might  not  go  on  if  freely  bombed. 

Sunday,  Nov.  18.  Colonel  Fagalde  and  I  discussed 
affairs.  He  thinks  that  there  are  still  a  million  Italians 
in  the  fighting  line  all  told.  With  the  4  French  divisions 
are  420  guns,  including  180  heavies.  There  is  no  C.-in-C. 
in  Italy.  We  each  command  our  own  lot.  F.  and  I  agree 
that  we  ought  to  send  20  divisions,  attempt  a  stroke, 
and  if  we  fail,  then  fortify  a  river  line  and  get  the  Italians 
to  dig  in,  and  go  on  with  the  war  in  France.  F.  says 
that  it  is  the  Italian  Command  and  Staff  that  chiefly 
failed.  They  sent  up  all  their  reserves  right  to  the  front 
hue.  and  when  the  Bodies  broke  in  they  found  a  regular 
crowd  of  Italians  in  rear,  without  proper  instructions,  and 
also  tired  and  short  of  food,  having  been  brought  great 
distances,  badly  fed,  and  exposed  at  nights,  a  la  belle  etoile. 
F.  says  that  the  Italian  Staff  is  not  often  enough  set  to 
regimental  duty,  and  that  they  are  not  practical  because 
they  are  not  necessarily  good  regimental  officers.  He 
praised  the  German  custom  of  making  C.O.s  certify  on  their 
honour  that  a  candidate  for  the  Staff  was  a  good  regimental 
officer.  We  find  that  we  are  both  in  favour  of  an  offensive 
down  the  Meuse,  but  F.  thinks  that  if  we  try  it  in  1918  the 
Bodies  will  be  able  to  concentrate  to  resist  it,  and  that  we 
must  wait  till  1919  and  for  the  arrival  of  the  Americans  in 
strength.  In  1918  we  ought  to  have  only  hunted  attacks 
like  Verdun,  Malmaison,  Arras,  and  Messines. 

Went  to  see  Lady  D'Abernon,  and  we  bewailed  the 
sorrows  of  Italy.  She  has  been  out  there  all  the  summer 
nursing  (a  fine  thing  to  do),  and  she  administers  anaesthetics, 
I  am  told,  better  than  many  professionals.  We  went  off 
to  Highgate  together  to  have  tea  with  Sir  A.  and  Lady 
Crosfield  at  West  Hill.  A  large  party  leaving  after  tennis, 
including  t he  M<  K< -nnas,  Lady  Drogheda,  Miss  Kerr-Clark, 
and  others.  M.  Venuelcs  spending  the  week-end  there, 
and  I  had  a  talk  with  him.  He  has  come  for  the  Inter- 
Allied  Conference.  He  is  anxious  about  the  position  in 
Salonika,  and  not   pleased  about   the  withdrawal  of  our 


138       FIKST  MUTTEKINGS  OF  A  STOEM 

two  divisions  for  Allenby.  He  says  that  Robertson 
promises  him  forty  heavy  guns,  and  that  the  plant  for 
the  last  six  of  the  nine  Greek  divisions  will  be  coming 
along  from  France  by  the  end  of  December.  V.'s  idea 
is  that  when  Allenby  has  reached  his  objective  he  will 
dig  in,  and  that  then  troops  can  be  transferred  again ;  and 
after  a  landing  on  the  Bulgarian  coast,  a  march  can  follow 
on  Adrianople.  His  idea  is  that  when  the  communica- 
tions with  Berlin  are  cut,  the  Turks  will  come  to  terms 
and  not  before.  I  asked  about  his  divisions  and  whether 
we  could  rely  upon  them.  He  said  we  could,  as  they  were 
trained  and  only  awaited  their  guns.  He  had  got  rid  of  500  of 
Tino's  adherents  among  the  officers,  and  declares  that  Tino 
never  had  the  majority  of  the  people  with  him.  Venizelos 
looks  about  sixty-five,  is  dapper  and  well  preserved,  very 
alert  with  a  keen  face,  and  voluble  in  baddish  French. 
He  seemed  to  take  very  moderate  views  and  to  be  very 
reasonable  and  sensible,  but  I  don't  know  what  Robert- 
son and  Allenby  will  say  about  his  strategy. 

I  heard  with  deep  sorrow  the  news  of  Joe  Maude's  death 
of  cholera  in  Mesopotamia,  and  wrote  the  memoir  of  him 
in  the  Times.  He  was  a  great  leader,  a  brave  man,  and 
dies  when  he  is  most  needed.  His  work  has  been  simply 
invaluable,  and  he  is  a  terrible  loss  to  the  country. 

Monday,  Nov.  19.  I  went  to  the  House  of  Commons 
in  the  afternoon  to  hear  the  great  debate  on  the  Rapallo 
agreement  and  L.  G.'s  Paris  speech.  Asquith  opened  in 
a  speech  of  great  moderation,  asking  many  pertinent 
questions,  and  L.  G.  replied  at  once.  The  House  was 
crammed.  I  sat  in  the  Serjeant-at-Arms'  box  and  had  a 
good  view.  L.  G.  at  his  best.  He  began  slowly  and  either 
answered  or  skilfully  evaded  A.'s  questions.  Then  he 
stoked  up  and  began  to  lay  about  him,  using  every  artifice 
of  the  demagogue  and  the  play-actor.  He  played  on  the 
whole  gamut  of  human  emotions,  cajoling,  threatening  with 
fierce  gestures,  and  rising  to  a  great  height  of  simulated 
passion.  He  was  humorous  too,  and  the  whole  House 
rose  to  him  and  rocked  with  joy.    What  an  assembly  ! 


1917]      DEATH  OF  SIR  STANLEY  MAUDE        139 

Directly  the  speech  was  over,  every  one  flocked  out  to  tea, 
and  nobody  listened  to  what  followed.  Asquith  should 
have  put  some  one  else  to  lead  and  should  have  followed 
L.  G.  It  is  too  delicious  to  compare  the  Paris  speech  and 
this  one  with  L.  G.'s  past  speeches  at  the  Albert  Hall, 
Carnarvon,  etc.  They  are  absolutely  contradictory,  and 
everything  that  lie  said  was  true  then,  he  now  says  is 
mil  me.     What  a  game  of  hanky-panky  politics  are  ! 

Dined  with  Lord  Haldane,  and  we  bewailed  the  death 
of  Maude  and  the  supersession  of  statesmanship  by  dema- 
goguism  at  home.  An  interesting  talk.  We  ultimately 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  utilisation  of  the  superior 
resources  of  the  Allies  was  the  true  mission  of  Government 
now.  I  liked  his  dictum  that  L.  G.'s  mind  fastened  on 
images  and  banned  concepts. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  20.  Things  going  on  a  trifle  better  in 
Italy,  and  the  Piave  line  is  still  held.  The  enemy  is 
probably  rearranging  his  troops  for  a  fresh  attack.  The 
Extremists  are  apparently  in  control  in  Russia,  and  civil 
war  is  in  progress.  Lunched  at  Mrs.  Denistoun's  with 
Jack  Cowans  and  the  Duchess  Millie  Sutherland.  We  had 
an  amusing  talk  with  all  our  various  experiences  of  men  and 
women  and  things.  The  Duchess  has  worked  like  a  heroine 
for  two  yeans  at  her  hospital  near  Calais.  Her  application 
to  go  to  Italy  has  been  refused.  Fitz  now  commands  a 
yeomanry  brigade  in  Palestine.  We  discussed  the  L.  G. 
speech  and  were  all  critical  of  it.  Jack  says  that  the 
Government  are  rabid  with  me  for  supporting  the  General 
Staff.  He  says  that  as  L.  G.  was  saying  that  the  U-boats 
no  longer  inspired  him  with  anxiety,  a  large  ship  with  8000 
tone  "f  cargo  was  sunk  four  miles  off  Dartmouth,  and  that 
ten  large  ships  are  down  this  week.  In  the  evening  dined 
with  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Lucas  at  13  Cleveland  Row,  and 
we  weni  afterwards  to  the  1900  Club,  where  I  gave  an 
address  on  the  war,  telling  the  members  privately  the 
whole  position  a-  1  knew  it.  Mr.  Coinyn  Piatt,  the  Secre- 
tary, said  it  was  the  iargesl  gathering  that  they  had  had. 
Thfl    room    crammed.     Wilfrid    Ashley    presided.     I    was 

VOL.  II.  L 


140       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

asked  numerous  questions  afterwards,  and  received  many 
compliments.  The  Secretary  wrote  to  me  afterwards : 
'  After  you  left,  and  before  for  that  matter,  your  praises 
were  uttered  to  the  skies.  Every  one  was  enormously 
impressed.  A  thousand  thanks  for  coming.  You  had 
a  bumper  evening  if  that  causes  you  any  satisfaction. 
Indeed,  never  before  have  we  had  such  a  crowd.' 

Wednesday,  Nov.  21.  Saw  Sir  W.  Robertson  for  a  short 
time  at  the  War  Office.  He  is  going  to  breakfast  with  the 
P.M.  to-morrow.  He  hates  breakfasting  out.  He  said 
that  he  was  going  to  ask  whether  he  was  to  go  to  Paris. 
I  advised  him  to  assume  that  he  was,  and  only  to  ask  when 
he  was  to  start.  A  speech  by  Carson,  saying  that  he 
acknowledged  no  strategical  authority  but  that  of  Robert- 
son and  Jellicoe,  makes  me  ask  whether  the  War  Cabinet 
have  realised  their  error  and  have  beaten  a  retreat.  R. 
hopes  that  the  Italians  will  now  stand.  Byng's  victory 
yesterday  near  Cambrai  very  comforting.  An  area  of 
five  miles  deep  by  twelve  broad  has  been  cleared.  The 
Tanks  were  used  in  mass,  and  cleared  the  wire  away  instead 
of  the  guns .  There  was  no  artillery  preparation,  and  there 
was  a  complete  surprise.  We  studied  the  result  on  large 
maps.  It  is  one  of  the  smartest  affairs  of  the  war  and  very 
creditable  to  all.  A  good  comment  upon  L.  G.'s  sarcastic 
references  to  the  Western  front.  R.  tells  me  that  Allenby 
is  a  bit  hung  up  for  supplies  in  the  difficult  hills  of  Judaea. 

Dined  with  Mrs.  Astor,  and  met  Colonel  and  Mrs.  House, 
and  Pringle  the  M.P.  A  good  talk  with  House,  who 
was  communicative,  which  is  rare  with  him.  The  President 
must  have  great  confidence  in  him,  as  H.  modified  one  of 
the  President's  messages  about  the  Allied  War  Council. 
H.  says  that  the  President  was  not  aware  of  all  going  on 
here,  so  H.  modified  the  message.  But  he  showed  the 
original  to  L.  G.,  who  '  peeved,'  as  H.  says,  because  the 
message  was  modified.  H.  is  well  aware  of  the  situation 
here,  and  of  the  distrust  of  our  high  commanders  in  war 
by  committee.  He  is  taking  Bliss,  the  American  Chief 
of  Staff,  to  Paris  with  him,  and  they  will  stay  in  Paris  afte? 


1917]  THE  RUSSIANS  DESERT  US  141 

the  Allied  Conference  for  the  War  Council.  I  hope  that 
they  may  stay  on  after,  for  it  is  everything  to  have  the 
American  influence  exerted,  and  I  trust  House's  sagacity 
and  coolness.  He  is  unlikely  to  be  rattled  by  our  war 
demagogue.  We  had  a  good  talk  over  the  war.  Went 
on  to  the  opera.     Boris  Godounoff. 

Thursday,  Nov.  22.  Lunched  with  Mrs.  Ronny  Greville, 
Sir  Sidney  Greville,  Sir  R.  Graham,  Lady  Cunard.  and  a 
few  more.  Lady  Ridley  could  not  come,  as  she  was  seeing 
her  boy  off.  Met  Nabokoff  afterwards.  He  complains 
that  our  authorities  do  not  consult  him  much.  He  thinks 
that  a  conservative  nucleus  may  be  forming  in  the  south 
of  Russia,  and  that  we  ought  to  be  more  in  touch  with  it 
than  we  are.  If  there  be  such  an  egg  laid,  he  thinks  that 
we  ought  to  raise  the  temj^erature  round  it  to  100°  by  our 
assistance.  Meanwhile,  we  Allies  are  sending  no  more 
help  to  Petrograd,  which  has  issued  orders  for  negotia- 
tions and  a  separate  peace,  a  base  desertion  of  Russia's 
Allies,  and  an  infraction  of  our  agreement  of  Sept.  5,  1914, 
by  which  all  the  Allies  promised  not  to  make  peace  sepa- 
rately. Dined  with  Sir  Ernest  Cassel,  Harry  Paulton, 
Sir  George  and  Lady  Murray,  Lady  Bonham-Carter,  and 
one  or  two  more.  Some  Bridge.  Lady  B.  C.  and  I  agreed 
about  the  debate,  and  the  wrong  tactics  of  her  father 
speaking  first. 

Saturday,  Nov.  24,  and  Sunday,  Nov.  25.  Lunched  at 
Lord  Howard  de  Walden's  house  in  Belgrave  Square  to 
see  Tom  Bridges.  He  is  up  and  dressed  and  getting  about, 
looking  well,  and  will  get  his  new  leg  in  a  few  weeks. 
We  had  a  good  talk.  H.  de  W.  just  back  from  a  battalion 
in  France.  He  has  seen  many  warm  corners,  including 
Suvla  Bay,  during  the  war,  and  now  has  a  job  under  the 
Q.M.G.  Went  down  to  Wilton  in  the  afternoon.  Found 
Gervase  Beckett  and  his  new  wife  (Queenie),  Lady  Muriel 
Greville  that  was,  Feversham's  widow  :  Lady  Muriel 
Herbert,  Reggie,  and  Bee,  with  Patricia  and  Juliet  Duff's 
pretty  girl,  Veronica.  Reggie  still  very  ill,  and  looks 
imioh    pulled   down.     He    ifl    beside    himself   with   anxiety 


i42       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

to  get  back  to  France,  and  the  news  of  the  use  of  cavalry 
in  last  Tuesday's  battle  lias  upset  him  all  the  more.  But 
he  is  totally  unfit  and  should  not  be  allowed  to  go  back. 
Gervase  Beckett  and  Lady  M.  very  pleasant  people.  I 
have  not  seen  Muriel  Herbert  for  years.  She  was  out  in 
Serbia  during  the  typhus  time,  and  is  full  of  strange  and 
interesting  recollections.  A  striking  figure  and  full  of 
character  and  intelligence.  Bee  a  perfect  hostess,  and 
I  was  very  glad  to  see  old  Reggie  again  and  to  have  a  good 
gossip  with  him.  Returned  to  town  with  the  Becketts, 
Monday  morning.  Beckett  told  me  that  the  staid  old 
Saturday  Review  was  hauled  up  over  an  article  on  Riga, 
and  threatened  with  the  rigours  of  the  law. 

Monday,  Nov.  26.  Lunched  with  Nabokoff  and  Wolkoff 
at  Claridge's  to  discuss  Russian  affairs.  N.  says  that  for 
the  last  six  months  he  has  been  boycotted  by  London 
Society  and  has  scarcely  seen  any  one.  Even  when  he 
goes  to  a  restaurant  he  hears  people  talking  about  '  those 
damned  Russians.'  He  does  not  know  whether  Russia 
will  be  represented  at  the  Paris  Conference  and  War  Council. 
He  has  never  been  consulted  by  our  War  Cabinet,  though 
M.  Cambon  constantly  has  been.  The  position  of  all  the 
Russian  diplomatic  representatives  is  most  difficult,  as  they 
do  not  represent  the  Extremists  who  have  assumed  office 
at  Petrograd  and  yet  are  not  acknowledged  as  a  Govern- 
ment by  the  Allies.  N.  considers  that  the  Germans  have 
practically  occupied  Petrograd,  and  have  probably  won 
at  Moscow.  But  Kaledin  and  the  Cossacks  seem  to  be 
acting  in  the  South,  and  N.  is  very  anxious  for  us  to  get 
into  communication  with  them,  suggesting  Mesopotamia, 
which  is  a  long  way  round.  He  says  that  Harmonius  and 
the  Russian  Supply  Commission  here  offer  us  fifty  officers 
to  serve  in  our  Army,  and  the  Russian  naval  forces  here  of 
two  destroyers  and  five  auxiliary  ships  are  growing  restless 
and  might  be  used  by  us.  We  do  not  seem  to  distinguish 
between  good  and  bad  Russians.  It  is  all  a  very  difficult 
position  for  the  Embassy,  and  I  am  unfeignedly  sorry  for 
them  all. 


1917]  LONDONDERRY  AND  THE  CONVENTION  143 

Tuesday,  Nov.  27.  Lunched  with  Olive;  Lady  Kitty 
Somerset,  Lad}-  Randolph,  Mrs.  Grawshay,  Mr.  Norton, 
Dr.  Ross,  and  Sir  Claude  Phillips.  Lady  R.  defined  sin 
as  '  exaggerated  inclinations.'  Ross  told  some  good  stories. 
Went  on  to  the  War  Office  and  found  that  Robertson, 
Macdonogh,  Jellicoe,  and  one  of  his  admirals  had  accom- 
panied the  P.M.,  Balfour,  and  Milner  to  Paris  to-day.  A 
pretty  large  crowd  of  t  wenty-six  persons.  The  War  Cabinet 
have  assured  the  Army  Council  in  writing  that  the  C.I.G.S. 
shall  always  go  with  Ministers  to  the  War  Council,  and  that 
he  shall  remain  the  official  adviser  on  strategy.  War 
waged  by  a  conference  is  not  attractive.  I  much  prefer 
the  quiet  meetings  of  Joffre  and  Robertson.  Haig's  last 
success  was  due  to  secrecy,  and  not  a  soul  in  Paris  or  here 
knew  of  the  plan.  Hence  its  success.  Byng  has  taken 
10,000  prisoners  and  100  guns. 

Thursday,  Nov.  29.  Lunched  with  Belle  Herbert;  Lady 
Muriel,  Lord  and  Lady  Alistair  Innes-Ker,  the  Duchess 
of  Roxburghe,  Sir  Ronald  Graham,  Lady  Leslie,  and  one 
or  two  more.  Another  good  talk  with  Lady  Muriel  upon 
her  strange  and  interesting  experiences  in  Serbia,  and  upon 
other  matters.  A  very  cheery  party,  and  much  chaff. 
A  long  sitting  of  the  Tribunal  all  the  afternoon. 

Friday,  Nov.  30.  Lord  Lansdowne's  letter  advocating 
an  early  peace  and  a  pact  of  the  nations,  refused  by  the 
Times,  was  published  in  the  D.T.  yesterday,  and  is  to-day 
anathematised  by  all  except  the  pacificists.  It  makes 
a  great  stir.  Lunched  at  Londonderry  House  ;  Lord  and 
Lady  L.,  Evelyn  FitzGerald,  Lady  Islington,  and  Hankey. 
( '.  1-  Buffering  from  a  blocked  vein  in  the  leg,  and  is  ordered 
to  bed.  The  Irish  Convention  is  hung  up  by  disagreement 
on  future  finance,  but  C.  returns  to  Dublin,  Dee.  10,  and 
all  hoj>e  of  some  sort  of  patched-up  settlement  is  not  yet 
lost.  Prom  .ill  sides  1  hear  bow  admirably  C.  lias  done, 
I  always  expected  he  would.  A  pleasant  talk.  Lady 
Muriel  laid  up,  so  1  wen!  to  sec  Billy  Lambtoo  alone.  He 
1  .it  11  Grosvenor  Creseenl  in  Lady  Northelift'e's  hospital. 
Very  weak  from  his  fall,  which  half  broke  his  neck  several 


i44       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

months  ago,  and  even  now  he  cannot  lift  a  cup  of  tea  to  his 
lips  with  his  right  hand.  It  must  have  been  a  near  thing,  and 
it  will  mean  a  long  recovery  I  fear,  but  he  is  looking  well 
and  is  bright  and  cheerful.  Lady  Pembroke  and  her  sister, 
Lady  Ingestre  that  was,  came  in  while  I  was  there.  Had 
tea  with  Mrs.  Astor,  and  we  discussed  America,  people, 
and  things.  Lord  Hardinge  came  in  just  as  I  was  leaving. 
The  resentment  caused  by  the  Lansdowne  letter  crescit 
eundo.  I  began  to  write  up  from  my  old  diaries  the  story 
of  the  genesis  of  the  Anglo-French  military  agreement. 

Saturday,  Dec.  1.  The  Germans  opened  a  serious  attack 
upon  Byng  in  the  Cambrai  region  on  November  30.  An 
article  of  mine  pointing  out  the  necessity  that  we  should 
discriminate  between  good  and  naughty  Russians  brings 
me  many  approving  letters  and  messages.  Lunched  with 
the  Ian  Hamiltons.  Lord  Haldane,  Lord  and  Lady 
Garvagh,  pretty  Miss  Lindsay,  and  others.  Walked  back 
across  the  Park  with  Lord  H.,  and  we  reconstructed  the 
genesis  of  the  Anglo-French  military  conversations  of 
January  1906.  I  saw  Maurice  for  a  few  minutes.  The 
German  counter-attack  against  Byng  got  in  pretty  deeply 
to  the  south  of  the  attack  and  reached  our  gun  positions,  so 
I  fear  that  we  have  lost  a  lot  of  guns  and  prisoners,  but  this 
attack  was  stayed  and  driven  back  ;  and  on  the  other  three- 
quarters  of  the  front  assailed,  the  Germans  were  beaten 
back  with  heavy  loss.  Wasted  an  afternoon  playing  Bridge 
at  Lady  Essex's  pretty  house.  Lord  Ribblesdale,  Tommy 
Maguire,  Mrs.  Astor,  Lord  R.  Cavendish,  the  Baronne  de 
Meauvey,  Lady  Florence  Willoughby,  and  Lady  Alastair 
Innes-Ker.     Lord  Wemyss  failed  us. 

Monday,  Dec.  3.  Wrote  a  short  article  on  our  operations 
in  Artois  and  Palestine.  Lunched  at  Claridge's  with 
General  Dessino  and  the  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Russian 
division  at  Salonika.  The  latter  declares  that  there  are 
two  Austro -German  Army  Corps  in  Macedonia,  but  thinks 
the  weather  prevents  movements  everywhere  except  on 
the  main  roads,  and  that  the  forces  of  the  two  sides  are  too 
well  balanced  to  render  a  hostile  attack  attractive.     Both 


1917]  A  SET-BACK  AT  CAMBRAI  145 

generals  were  very  gloomy  about  Russian  affairs.  They 
are  totally  without  trustworthy  news,  political  or  family, 
and  receive  no  money,  so  how  they  live  I  don't  know. 
Dessino  told  me  that  a  mob  had  taken  hold  of  an  old  gentle- 
man in  Petrograd  and  had  taken  from  him  all  his  clothes 
and  even  boots,  leaving  him  in  nothing  but  his  under-linen. 
He  told  them  that  as  he  was  old  and  it  was  cold  he  might 
die,  whereupon  a  soldier  gave  him  his  coat  as  he  had  taken 
the  old  gentleman's  fur  coat.  When  the  old  man  reached 
home  he  found  17,000  roubles  in  the  pocket  of  the  soldier's 
coat,  evidently  stolen.  I  hear  that  Sir  W.  R.  got  on  well  at 
Paris.  In  the  political  and  economic  sphere  things  went 
well.  At  the  War  Council  Wilson  appeared  with  a  large 
Staff,  Cadorna  came  alone,  and  Foch  did  not  come  at  all, 
being  represented  by  Weygand  as  Clemenceau  wanted  Foch 
to  remain  Chief  of  Staff.  Cadorna  inquired  querulously 
whether  he  had  joined  a  boy's  school.  The  meetings  were 
no  better  and  no  worse  than  the  old  ones,  but  no  harm  has 
yet  been  done.  The  military  committee  had  been  asked  to 
draw  up  papers  on  Salonika,  Italy,  and  the  use  of  the  Belgian 
troops,  which  will  be  a  harmless  occupation  for  them. 
Allenby  expected  to  go  on  again  to-day.  The  Turks  have 
some  7  divisions  in  position  west  of  Jerusalem,  but  they  are 
weak,  and  Allenby  intends  to  turn  them  in  the  north  and 
cut  them  off  if  he  can.  He  is  bringing  up  the  10th  and  60th 
Salonika  Divisions  to  the  front.  The  Boche  division  has 
not  appeared  yet. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  4.  The  Germans  claim  to  have  taken  6000 
prisoners  and  100  guns  from  Byng.  Their  attack  continued 
yesterday,  but  except  for  their  first  success  in  the  south  of 
the  battlefield,  they  have  gained  very  little,  have  had  great 
losses,  and  two-thirds  of  the  ground  gained  has  been  re- 
captured from  them.  Something  like  200  people  assembled 
at  llic  Qua]  d'Qmay  for  the  Conference.  All  the  heads  of 
the  Allied  missions  had  brought  fine  speeches  in  (heir 
pocl ■•  1  -  Hid  the  others  expected  to  bo  there  all  day  listening 
to  them.    Bui  Clemenceau  evaded  b  parlate.    He  made  an 

opening  speech  of  ,1  tow  words,  just  welcoming  all,  and  then 


i46       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

invited  the  Conference  to  break  up  into  committees  on  the 
different  subjects  and  to  set  to  work.  He  gave  them  five 
minutes  to  nominate  their  men  !  Our  soldiers  had  little  to 
do  till  the  Saturday,  when  the  War  Council  sat  for  two  hours 
only  at  Versailles.  Everybody  seems  to  think  the  Advisory 
Military  Committee  to  be  tosh.  Evidently  Clemenceau 
does,  as  he  will  not  allow  Foch  to  belong  to  it.  It  has  been 
given  some  holiday  tasks  and  that  is  all.  There  was  no 
important  strategy  discussed.  The  attack  on  Byng  had 
been  an  eye-opener,  and  our  people  almost  welcome  it,  as 
I  do,  and  for  the  same  reason.  Our  G.S.  say  that  the  Boches 
will  look  after  the  war  and  keep  us  on  the  right  path.  The 
last  two  of  our  6  divisions  for  Italy  have  not  gone  yet. 
D.  H.  had  about  20  divisions  in  reserve  when  the  Boche 
counterstroke  against  Byng  began,  and  we  think  that  Haig 
will  be  all  right,  but  we  have  had  a  heavy  punch.  Some 
French  divisions  were  coming  up  to  help.  The  War  Cabinet 
naturally  asked  questions  about  the  loss  of  German  moral, 
upon  which  Haig  and  Kiggell  were  always  harping,  and  our 
G.S.  put  the  responsibility  on  X.  They  will  not  talk  so 
much  of  loss  of  German  moral  after  this  last  affair. 

The  question  now  was  what  the  Cabinet  would  do  about 
men,  of  which  we  were  so  short.  Robertson  doubts  that  the 
enemy  ever  expected  the  results  which  he  obtained  on  the 
Isonzo,and  hopes  that  the  Italians  have  got  their  second  wind 
and  will  hold  on.  The  French  and  British  troops  are  now  in 
line  at  the  angle  of  the  mountain  and  river  front.  R.  says 
that  there  are  8  German  divisions  now,  but  that  the  Boches 
would  never  have  launched  only  6  if  they  had  intended  a  great 
stroke,  and  in  the  mountains  the  season  is  very  unpropitious. 
He  also  thinks  that  Cambrai  has  helped  Italy  out  by  attract- 
ing Boche  forces.  Allenby  had  done  well,  and  he  would 
probably  take  Jerusalem  very  soon  now,  but  it  would  scarcely 
make  amends  for  our  losses  at  Cambrai.  R.  thinks  that 
the  Boche  game  is  to  attack  hard  all  the  winter  and  next 
year,  so  as  to  provoke  a  decision  before  the  Americans 
grow  too  strong.  I  said  Yes,  and  we  must  dig  in  and  wire 
ourselves  up  and  be  prepared  for  a  defensive  phase  at  need. 


1917]  THE  FOOD  CONTROLLER  147 

R.  thinks  that  the  Paris  meeting  has  been  no  better  and 
no  worse  than  others.  The  thing  might  go  on,  but 
it  was  a  silly  arrangement.  An  Allied  Staff  without  an 
Allied  Commander  was  futility.  House  had  not  spoken 
much.  Pershing  had  wanted  to  come  alongside  of  us,  and 
R.  had  advised  them  to  get  President  Wilson  to  demand 
it,  as  his  word  was  law  in  France.  R.  also  said  that  the 
situation  was  serious,  and  L.  G.  had  many  worries  to  contend 
with,  so  he,  R.,  was  anxious  to  help  him  if  no  more  tricks 
were  played.  I  heartily  agreed.  As  to  war  aims,  R. 
thought  that  the  Allies  were  in  such  a  position  that  they 
could  not  announce  them,  for  we  did  not  mean  to  give  up 
the  captured  colonies  or  conquests  in  Turkey,  while  France 
held  out  for  Alsace -Lorraine  and  as  much  of  the  left  bank 
of  the  Rhine  as  she  could  get,  and  Italy  had  most  ambitious 
claims  against  Austria  and  further  east.  Lastly,  America 
was  only  out  for  ideals,  including  the  freeing  of  Belgium 
and  northern  France,  and  all  these  divergent  aims  could 
not  easily  be  reconciled.  R.  told  us  that  Lord  Rhondda 
returning  from  Paris  was  very  sick  in  the  Channel.  He  said 
that  lie  hoped  that  no  one  would  hear  about  it,  for  they 
would  say  '  Food  Controller  indeed  !  Pshaw  ! '  R.  says 
that  General  Marshall  has  been  given  the  command  in  Meso- 
potamia <>n  Maude's  strong  recommendation  at  a  moment 
when  there  was  a  question  of  sending  Maude  elsewhere. 

Wednesday,  Dec.  5.  An  air-raid  warning  at  4.30  a.m.  About 
25  Gothas  came,  but  only  6  or  so  reached  London  in  succession . 
Much  noise  and  not  much  harm  done.  Read  Dante  till  the 
row  was  over,  and  then  went  to  sleep  again.  Wrote  most  of 
t  lie  day.  Went  to  see  Londonderry  before  dinner,  lie  is  si  ill 
in  bed.  To-morrow  the  P.M.  is  coming  to  talk  Ireland  wit  h 
him,  and  C.  is  going  to  advise  him  to  apply  the  Service  Acts 
to  Ireland.  Dined  with  Lord  and  Lady  Scarbrough  in  Park 
Lane.    The  Spanish   Ambassador,  a  pretty  niece  of  Mr. 

lialfour's,  Mrs.  Lascelles,  and  her  husband,  and  Philip  Kerr, 
one  of  th<-  I'.M.'s  secretaries,  and  ;i  j<  mn  premier  of  the 
Kindergarten  in  Downing  Street.  We  were  all  gloomy 
becau  e  Byng  hat  had  to  retreal  from  Bourlon  Wood  on  the 


i48       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

Cambrai  battlefield.  Kerr  amusing  about  the  President's 
life  at  Washington.  It  is  most  regular  and  domestic,  and 
he  sees  few  people.  A  lot  of  talk  about  the  war.  Kerr 
grumbled  that  the  General  Staff  had  a  Press  Bureau  and 
rigged  the  Press.  It  is  a  case  of  cet  animal  est  ires  mechant, 
quand  on  Vattaque  il  se  defend. 

Thursday,  Dec.  6.  Another  bad  submarine  week  :  16 
big  ships  down.  This  usually  follows  when  the  P.M.  has 
announced  that  the  danger  is  ended. 

Friday,  Dec.  7.  The  Boches  have  used  18  divisions 
against  Byng,  who  has  now  14  divisions  against  them.  We 
have  lost  35,000  men  and  111  guns  since  the  20th,  the  Boches 
possibly  70,000  men  and  148  guns.  The  main  Boche  attack 
by  7  divisions  on  the  Bourlon  side  was  beaten  off  with 
immense  loss,  but  other  Boche  divisions  got  up  close  in  the 
south  and  surprised  the  55th  Division,  which  was  tired  and 
was  holding  a  long  line.  Our  scouts  were  scuppered  and  the 
enemy  got  in  under  cover  of  a  fog.  It  was  here  that  we  lost 
the  guns,  including  some  6-inch  howitzers  and  60-prs.  The 
Boches  have  now  150  divisions  in  the  West  and  79  in  the 
East,  but  the  latter  are  being  drawn  on  to  fill  Western  gaps, 
and  some  highly  skilled  electricians  have  recently  been  taken 
prisoners  from  the  Boche  infantry.  The  enemy  still  holds 
part  of  our  old  line  at  Villers  Ghislain  and  no  one  will  assure 
me  that  we  shall  retake  it.  But  our  new  line  is  strong. 
Byng  had  done  well  with  only  6  divisions  on  the  20th,  but 
the  Boches  for  a  long  time  past  have  had  all  their  plans 
ready  for  rushing  up  divisions,  and  they  rather  over- 
whelmed us.  Had  the  cavalry  gone  in  at  Bourlon  they 
might  have  got  Cambrai,  but  they  were  directed  on 
the  southern  line,  and,  being  held  up  on  the  canal,  were 
too  late. 

I  saw  Fagalde,  who  told  me  that  there  has  never  been  less 
unity  than  now,  and  we  agreed  to  lunch  to-morrow  and 
discuss  it.  Then  I  saw  a  friend  acquainted  with  details  of 
our  organisation.  We  have  an  aggregate  of  3,318,000  men 
actually  in  the  field  abroad,  including  native  troops  and 
labour  units,  and  of  these  only  2,114,000  in  France,  of  which 


1917]  WHERE  OUR  FORCES  ARE  149 

about  half  are  fighting  troops.     We  have  419,000  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, including  179,000  Indian  Army  and  150,000  labour. 
We  have  353,000  in  Egypt  all  told,  216,000  at  Salonika,  and 
so  on.     This  is  one  reason  why  we  are  not  winning  in  France, 
and   the   greatest   success   in   these   subsidiary  campaigns 
cannot  alter  the  fate  of  the  war.     Our  best  soldiers  are  sure 
that  we  can  win  if  we  use  our  man-power,  and  believe  that 
we  can  get  500,000  men  from  industries,  100,000  from  the 
mines,  and  so  forth,  but  the  War  Cabinet   prevents  them 
from  acting.     We  are   114,000  down  in  France,  and  the 
lowest  estimate  of  our  waste  next  year  is  an  average  of 
55,000  a  month  all  round.     The  soldiers  are  keen  for  Com- 
pulsion in  Ireland,  but  the  question  is  being  trifled  with. 
The  Prime  Minister  seems  to  me  to  have  misjudged  the 
situation  all  this  year.     We  are  feeding  over  a  million  men 
in  the  side-show  theatres  of  war,  and  are  letting  down  our 
strengths  in  France  at  a  moment  when  all  the  Boche  forces 
from  Russia  may  come  against  us  and  after  a  campaign  in 
which  our  men  have  had  to  fight  double  our  own  number  of 
divisions.     The  P.M.  is  obsessed  by  the  idea  that  it  is  a  stale- 
mate in  France.     He  has  his  troubles  with  Labour  no  doubt, 
but  never  once  has  he  told  the  country  the  truth  of  the  mili- 
tary situation  and  asked  for  that  generous  response  which  the 
people  would  give  him  if  they  were  told  the  risks  which  L.  G. 
is  running.     To  win  in  a  secondary  and  lose  in  a  principal 
theatre  is  sheer  fatuity,  but  the  War  Cabinet  is  completely 
ignorant  of  strategy  and  the  art  of  war,  and  will  not  Listen  to 
those  who  know.     My  difficulties  are  that  Northcliffe  has 
tied  himself  to  L.  G.'s  chariot  wheels.     I  am  unable  to  get 
the  support  from  the  editor  of  the  Times  that  I  must  have 
to  rouse  the  country,  and  I  do  not  think  that  I  will  be  able 
to  go  on  with  him  much  longer.     I  had  a  talk  with  him  to- 
day about  the  Lansdowne  letter.     He  told  me  that  he  had 
discussed  it  will)    Lord   L.,  and  had   pointed  out  the  great 
objections  to  it.     Lord  L.  had   promised  to  sleep  upon  it, 
but  must  have  Mill  il  offal  once  to  Lord  Burnhani.     Dawson 
saw  it  in  the  tram  in  the  D. T .,  and  was  astonished  to  find  it 
there. 


150       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

Saturday  to  Monday,  Dec.  8-10.  Colonel  Fagalde  lunched 
with  me  at  the  N.  and  M.  Club.  His  chief  purpose  was  to 
bring  me  over  to  the  idea  of  an  Allied  generalissime,  declar- 
ing that  French  opinion  was  greatly  in  favour  of  it,  and  that 
Clemenceau  would  not  be  able  to  stay  long  if  he  did  not  get 
it,  as  Briand,  Viviani,  Thomas,  and  all  the  rest  of  them  were 
watching  and  waiting  to  upset  him.  I  asked  him  plainly 
to  give  me  the  name  of  the  general  whom  he  had  in  mind, 
and  he  said  Petain.  He  went  through  all  the  arguments, 
and  while  I  admitted  that  the  generalissime  was  the  logical 
consequence  of  an  Allied  Staff,  and  that  Petain  was  to  my 
mind  one  of  the  greatest  soldiers  that  the  war  had  produced 
on  the  Allied  side,  I  did  not  favour  the  plan,  and,  moreover, 
the  Allied  Staff  had  shrunk  into  insignificance  since  Foch's 
defection  from  it.  But  Fagalde  wants  the  three  or  four 
chiefs  of  the  General  Staffs  to  be  permanently  and  directly 
under  the  generalissime  in  Paris.  I  did  not  see  how  this 
would  work,  and  asked  what  would  happen  if  the  general- 
issime decided  upon  making  some  use  of  our  forces  in 
Palestine  or  Mesopotamia  or  elsewhere  against  the  opinion 
of  our  Chief  of  Staff  and  our  Home  Government.  Fagalde 
said,  logically  enough,  that  the  generalissime  would  proceed 
to  passer  outre  and  issue  his  orders,  which  would  always  be 
signed  by  him  alone.  I  said  that  this  would  create  intense 
friction  at  once.  A  generalissime  was  one  thing,  a  single 
commander  in  France  was  another.  We  discussed  the  rights 
which  a  generalissime  should  possess,  and  I  showed  how 
impracticable  it  would  be  to  give  them  to  him,  and  suggested 
that  the  French  were  obsessed  with  the  Napoleonic  legend, 
forgetting  that  N.  had  a  tabula  rasa  to  work  on  after  the 
Revolution,  whereas  now  there  were  the  old  civilisations, 
governments,  and  so  on,  with  no  idea  of  abandoning  their 
independent  rights.  In  fact,  I  was  sure  that  the  thing 
would  not  work,  and  that,  though  the  idea  was  logical,  it 
was  a  case  of  the  best  being  the  enemy  of  the  good.  I 
thought  that  the  Joffre  plan  had  worked  well,  and  that 
while  unity  of  action  had  reigned  so  had  harmony.  I  could 
not  say  so  much  for  1917  and  all  that  had  followed  since 


1917]  0.   DAWSON  AXD  CAMBRA1  151 

Calais.  I  valued  harmony  of  relations  more  than  anything 
else,  and  felt  sure  that  the  g&neralissime  plan  would  not 
promote  it,  and  that  we  should  end  by  hating  each  other 
more  than  the  common  enemy.  1  Baid  that  Fagalde  had 
only  to  study  the  history  of  Allied  operations  to  realise  their 
great  dangers,  and  that  the  harmony  of  the  present  time 
was  to  my  mind  the  most  important  thing  of  all. 

Went  off  to  Droxford  and  spent  a  pleasant  week-end  at 
Grenville  with  Miss  Greenwood  and  her  party.  A  good  walk 
over  the  Downs  on  Sunday.  Returned  Monday  in  time  to 
lunch  with  a  friend  at  the  N.  and  M.  We  had  a  good  talk 
about  the  war,  and  he  showed  me  the  text  of  the  Calais 
Conference  Agreement,  which  I  had  never  seen.  It  is 
preposterous  and  would  have  broken  up  the  Government 
here  had  it  been  published.  He  was  given  it  in  Paris  by 
a  Frenchman  so  that  he  might  support  the  scheme,  but 
this  he  never  did.  He  asked  how  I  was  allowed  to  publish 
my  allusion  to  this  incident.  I  said  that  I  supposed  that 
the  Censor  slept  that  day.  We  both  thought  that  we  were 
approaching  the  most  difficult  period  of  the  war. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  1 1 .  Met  Colonel  Fagalde,  who  told  me  that 
Sarrail  had  been  degomme&t  last,  and  that  Guillaumat  would 
now  command  at  Salonika.  What  could  be  done  with  Sarrail 
he  did  not  know,  but  he  might  be  made  Governor  of  Paris, 
as  the  retirement  of  Dubail  Avas  in  contemplation. 

Dined  with  Lady  Ridley  in  Tenterden  Street ;  Lord 
Robert  Cecil,  Mr.  Garvin,  and  a  few  more  there.  We 
talked  Ireland  after  dinner,  but  in  the  drawing-room  later, 
when  Lord  Robert  had  gone,  Garvin  began  to  give  vent  to 
the  usual  unjust  attacks  upon  our  generals  now  so  popular 
with  L.  G.  and  the  Downing  Street  Kindergarten.  At  last 
I  gave  tongue,  and  we  had  a  heated  argument ,  neither  of 
11- .  of  course,  convincing  the  other. 

Wednesday,  Dec.  12.  I  was  unpleasantly  surprised  by 
the  first  leader  in  tla-  Times  to-day,  suggesting  an  inquiry 
into  the  Cambrai  set-back  by  somebody  not  concerned  in 
the  affair,  or,  in  other  words,  a  sort  of  trial  of  Haig  at 
home.     From  the  spacing  of  the  article,  the  inflated  and 


152       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

pontifical  style,  I  saw  at  once  an  official  inspiration.  In 
the  evening,  whether  by  arrangement  or  not,  the  sub- 
ject of  an  inquiry  was  brought  up  in  the  H.  of  C.  I 
am  told  that  there  was  no  feeling  in  the  House  at  all 
in  favour  of  an  independent  inquiry,  but  Bonar  Law  pro- 
mised one.  I  wrote  a  letter  to  Dawson,  pointing  out 
that  I  entirely  differed  from  him  :  that  the  surprise  of 
one  of  our  divisions  in  a  fog  was  a  case  which  could  well 
be  left  to  Haig,  and  that  Press  screams  for  inquiries  when 
any  little  thing  went  wrong  at  the  front  would  entail  the 
absence  of  commanders  from  their  troops,  and  would  make 
the  vigorous  conduct  of  operations  impracticable.  He  told 
me  that  I  could  not  expect  him  to  publish  my  letter.  I 
certainly  did  expect  it.  I  asked  him  whether  I  was  entitled 
to  ask  him  whether  the  leader  was  inspired,  and  he  said 
that  I  was,  but  that  he  was  not  compelled  to  reply,  an 
answer  on  which  one  could  place  one's  own  construction. 
An  amusing  instance  of  '  political  strategy.'  However,  as 
the  inquiry  will  be  at  G.H.Q.  in  France,  no  harm  will  now  be 
done. 

Thursday,  Dec.  13.  Wrote  an  article  on  the  military 
situation.  Lunched  with  Mr.  Joynson  Hicks  and  his  wife 
at  15  St.  James's  Place.  Sir  W.  Robertson  there,  and 
some  M.P.'s,  including  Sir  Gilbert  Parker  and  his  wife, 
Major  Mildmay,  and  others.  Hicks  rather  despondent 
about  the  Air  Board  and  our  output  of  engines.  Robert- 
son amusing  about  his  visit  to  Clifton  yesterday  :  the  wife 
of  the  headmaster  was  such  a  stickler  for  rations  that  R. 
got  scarcely  any  bread,  meat,  or  biscuits,  and  was  starved. 
We  walked  back  to  the  W.O.  together,  and  I  told  him  the 
story  of  yesterday's  '  political  strategy,'  which  diverted 
us  both  much.  R.  now  breakfasts  with  L.  G.  on  Thurs- 
days. He  asked  L.  G.  this  morning  what  he  thought  he 
had  got  out  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem. 

Friday,  Dec.  14.  Walked  with  Fagalde  and  told  him  the 
story  of  last  Wednesday.  We  discussed  the  generalissirne 
theory  again,  and  I  promised  to  write  about  it.  There 
is  temporary  calm  in  most  of  the  theatres  of  war.     The 


1917]  A  LETTER  FROM  ALLENBY  153 

armistice  negotiations  on  the  Russian  front  recommenced 
yesterday.  A  good  speech  by  L.  G.  at  Gray's  Inn  to-day. 
It  is  a  pity  that  his  speeches  and  his  actions  can  never 
scrape  a  bowing  acquaintance. 

Saturday  and  Sunday,  Dec.  15  and  10.  Laid  up  with  a 
bad  cold,  but  wrote  an  article  on  the  question  of  the  'gener- 
alissime,'  contesting  the  French  ideas  on  this  subject.  It 
appeared  on  Monday,  Dec.  17,  much  bowdlerised,  but 
still  containing  the  main  argument.  I  received  the  follow- 
ing interesting  letter  from  Allenby,  and  answered  it  the 
same  day — 

General  Headquarters, 

Egyptian  Expeditionary  Force, 

2-ith  November, 

My  dear  Refington, — I  was  very  interested  in  your  letter  of 
the  19th  Oct..  and  am  glad  to  have  your  review  of  the  situation, 
and  your  opinion  on  things  in  France.  Events  have  moved 
rapidly  there  in  the  last  few  days  ;  and  I  was  delighted  that  my 
old  Third  Army  had  done  a  big  thing  under  Bungo.  Maude's 
death  is  a  great  loss  ;  but  he  had  placed  affairs  in  a  satisfactory 
state  of  consolidation  before  he  died.  I  am  writing  now,  in  my 
camp,  about  9  miles  N.E.  of  Askalon.  The  day  is  bright  and 
clear ;  and  I  have  before  me  the  whole  plain  of  Philistia,  and  the 
range  of  the  Judaean  mountains  from  end  to  end.  I  can  see  the 
buildings  of  the  western  outskirts  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  top  of 
the  range,  nearly  2000  feet  above  me.  We  are  not  there  yet, 
though  I  stood  two  days  ago  within  five  miles  of  the  Holy  City  at 
Kustul,  on  the  top  of  the  pass  through  which  runs  the  Jaffa- 
Jerusalem  road.  I  don't  want  to  fight  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  I  am 
turning  it,  by  the  North,  through  the  most  abominable  country 
— cooky  and  pathless  mountains.  There  has  been  hard  fighting 
round  Nebi-Samwil,  where  is  the  tomb  of  the  Prophet  Samuel 
in  a  mosque.  It  is  in  our  hands,  and  the  Turks  have  shelled 
it  i  good  de;d.  We  have  carefully  refrained  from  doing  so. 
.M  left  is  on  the  R.  Auja,  N.  of  Jaffa.  1  am  running  ahead  of 
my  railways,  roads,  and  supplies;  and  if  we  get  a  lot  of  rain 
now,  1  shall  have  some  trouble.  My  own  railway  is  now  just 
X   of  Gaza,  but  cant  catch  me  up  for  a  long  time  yet. 

The  Turkish  railway -gauge,  3'  5  A",  from  Beit  Hauan  to  the 
junction  station  W.  of  Jerusalem,  is  in  fair  order  ;  but  I  have  only 


154       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STOKM 

captured  three  engines — sixty  or  seventy  trucks.  I  hope  to  get 
two  or  three  more  engines,  which  will  fit  the  gauge,  from  Egypt  ; 
and  this  will  help  me  a  lot. 

I  gave  Kress  von  Kressenstein  a  good  beating.  He  is  now 
putting  up  strong  rearguard  resistance,  under  Falkenhayn's 
direction.  Falkenhayn  was  at  Jerusalem,  but  I  believe  him 
to  be  now  at  Nablus. 

I  fixed  the  31st  October  as  my  zero  day.  My  preparations 
were  then  fairly  complete,  and  the  moon  was  full.  On  the 
27th  I  began  to  bombard  the  defences  of  Gaza,  On  the  30th  the 
Navy  joined  in  on  the  rear  defences  and  the  bridges  over  the 
Wady  el  Hesy.  Careful  preparations  had  been  made  for  their 
co-operation  during  the  previous  two  months.  My  staff  and  the 
naval  staff  had  been  in  close  accord.  The  result  was  that  their 
fire  was  effective,  and  their  co-operation  of  great  value.  During 
the  last  week  of  October,  mounted  troops  and  R.E.  worked  to 
develop  the  water  supply  at  Khalassa  and  Aslu j ,  with  a  view  to 
using  those  places  as  bases  for  my  mounted  troops,  whence  they 
could  act  on  my  right.  Simultaneously,  the  standard  gauge 
railway  was  pushed  from  Shellal  towards  Karm,  and  a  light  rail- 
way from  Gamli  towards  El  Buggar.  On  the  27th  the  Turks 
pushed  a  reconnaissance  in  force  towards  El  Buggar,  from  the 
N. ;  employing  some  two  thousand  to  three  thousand  infantry 
and  one  or  two  regiments  of  cavalry.  Stout  resistance  of  London 
Yeomanry  kept  the  Turks  at  bay,  until  the  arrival  of  Infantry ; 
when  the  Turks  retired.  On  the  night  of  the  30th  two  mounted 
divisions  started  from  Asluj  and  Khalassa,  and  marched  to  the 
N.E.  of  the  Beersheba  positions.  Two  divisions  of  infantry 
marched  to  positions  in  readiness  opposite  the  S.W.  defences 
between  the  Beersheba-Khalassa  road  and  the  Wady  el  Saba. 
One  division  moved  up  on  their  flank,  N.E.  of  El  Buggar,  and  one 
stayed  in  reserve  near  Shellal.  One  division  of  mounted  troops 
watched  the  gap  thence  to  the  right  of  my  Left  Corps  about  Tel 
el  Gemmi.  At  an  early  hour  on  the  31st  the  two  divisions  as- 
saulted the  S.W.  defences  of  Beersheba,  after  an  hour's  bombard- 
ment, and  took  them.  The  mounted  troops  who  had  turned  the 
defences  from  the  N.E.  pushed  in  towards  the  town.  Fighting 
went  on  all  day,  and  at  nightfall  Turks  were  still  holding  trenches 
in  the  eastern  outskirts  of  the  town.  A  regiment  of  Australian 
Light  Horse  charged  these  trenches,  which  were  8  feet  deep 
and  4  feet  wide  ;  galloped  over  two  lines  of  them,  and  ended  the 


1917]  A  BRILLIANT  ATTACK  155 

battle.  The  capture  of  Beersheba  turned  the  whole  system  of 
the  Turkish  defences.  Kress  was  taught  again,  as  he  had  been 
taught  before, — at  Maghdaha  and  Rata — that  it  is  not  safe  to 
leave  out  an  isolated  detachment  within  reach  of  a  mobile  enemy. 
Chetwode  was  his  schoolmaster  on  each  of  the  three  occasions. 
One  division  was  at  once  sent  up  the  hills  to  the  N.  of  the  town, 
and  a  mounted  brigade  up  the  Hebron  road.  The  water  in  the 
area  needed  development ;  and  this  and  the  movement  of  troops 
into  position  for  the  next  attack  was  a  work  of  some  days. 
Meanwhile,  on  the  early  morning  of  the  2nd,  my  left  wing  at- 
tacked Gaza — with  a  limited  objective — and  captured  all  the 
outer  defences  from  Umbrella  Hill  on  the  Cairo  road  to  Sheikh 
Hasan  on  the  coast  N.W.  of  the  town.  On  the  morning  of  the 
6th,  three  divisions  attacked  the  Kanwukah  and  Ruschdi  systems 
of  entrenchments,  from  W.  of  Beersheba  ;  and  took  them,  to  a 
depth  of  eight  or  nine  miles.  Kress  counter-attacked,  fiercely,  at 
Tel  el  Khuweilfeh  ;  striking  at  my  water  base  at  Beersheba. 
One  division  here,  as  flank  guard,  made  a  gallant  defence,  with 
the  Camel  Brigade  covering  its  right,  on  the  Hebron  road  ;  and 
the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  on  its  left.  Kress's  attack 
failed  ;  and  he  was  beaten. 

That  night,  the  Left  Corps  attacked  Gaza  ;  and  went  through 
with  but  little  opposition.  Next  day,  Hareira  redoubt  was  taken. 
A  division,  moving  along  the  coast,  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Wu'lv  el  Hesy,  and  a  division  went  for  Sheria.  Since  then,  the 
enemy  has  been  pressed  incessantly  ;  with  every  man,  gun, 
and  horse  that  could  be  set  going.  Transport  and  water  have 
been  my  difficulties  ;  but  I  have  managed  to  keep  the  mounted 
troops  always  in  contact  with  the  Turks,  and  two  divisions  of 
infantry  have  kept  pace  with  them.  Throughout  the  infantry 
have  fought  and  marched  wonderfully.  Falkenhayn  came  to 
Jerusalem  and  did  his  best  to  counter-attack,  and  to  rally  rear- 
guards. The  Turks  fought  well  but  were  always  out-marched 
and  out-fought.     We  estimate  that  they  have  lost,  in  all  ways, 

son!'-  $ men,  including  between  1 1,000  and  12,000  prisoners. 

We  know  of  80  guns  captured,  and  many  more  have  been  thrown 
into  dongas  and  ravines,  oi  buried.    The  country  is  shewn  with 

million-  <>f  rounds  cf  small  arm   ammunition,  and   hundreds  of 

thousands  of  shells.  Moreover,  I  have  neither  men  noi  transport, 
as  y.t.  to  collect  all  the  stuff.  I  am  oonoemed  with  pushing  up 
supplies,    The  Navy  is  putting  supplies  <>n  shore  for  me  along 

\  I 1 1 . .    1 1 .  M 


i56       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

the  coast ;  but  rough  weather  stops  this ;  so  it  is  a  precarious 
form  of  supply  at  the  best.  We  had  one  or  two  very  hot  days  ; 
and  two  days  and  nights  of  cold  rain.  Now,  the  weather  is  bright 
and  clear  ;  like  winter  in  the  high  veldt  in  Natal.  Gaza  is  a  ruin. 
What  houses  are  untouched  by  shell  have  been  unroofed  by  the 
Turks  for  the  sake  of  the  timber.  Jaffa  is  intact,  but  most  of  the 
inhabitants  had  been  removed.  The  orange  gardens  and  vine- 
yards, thereabouts,  are  unhurt.  In  that  neighbourhood  are 
many  Jewish  colonies  ;  and  they  are,  to  all  appearance,  still  in  a 
flourishing  condition.  They  grow  vines,  peaches,  oranges,  and 
all  sorts  of  agricultural  produce.  Some  are  friendly  ;  some  are 
pro-Boche,  as  is  natural,  seeing  that  many  are  German  Jews. 
The  Turks  took  many  horses  and  oxen  from  them,  but  seem  to 
have  left  plenty  of  cows,  sheep,  and  goats.  I  think  that  a  great 
amount  of  their  food  supplies  have  been  cleverly  hidden.  The 
Turk  seems  to  be  rallying  on  the  Tul  Keran-Nablus  line,  where 
he  is  entrenching.  The  people  we  are  fighting  in  the  mountains 
are  a  rearguard,  or  rather  a  flank  guard  to  the  troops  evacuating 
Jerusalem.  My  mounted  troops  have  had  great  scope  ;  and  have 
made  some  very  useful  charges — well-timed  and  effective.  They 
have  lost  some  good  leaders — including  Neil  Primrose,  Evelyn 
Rothschild,  and  Pirie — but  they  are  full  of  heart. — Yours  sin- 
cerely, (Signed)  Edmund  N.  Allenby. 

P.S. — I  have  been  in  close  touch  with  Wingate,  all  the  time  I 
have  been  out  here,  and  he  is  a  great  help.  The  10th  Division 
have  had  a  big  sick  list,  from  fever  ;  but  I  have  been  able  to  give 
them  a  fairly  easy  time,  and  they  are  mending.  Bulfin  and 
Chetwode  have  both  done  well ;  and  my  divisions  are  well  com- 
manded. My  mounted  troops  have  done  all  that  I  wanted  from 
them,  and  have  been  well  led.  (Signed)  E.  N.  A. 

Monday,  Dec.  17.  News  comes  of  the  destruction  of 
another  convoy  in  the  North  Sea.  Practically  the  same 
thing  that  happened  two  months  ago,  and  a  bad  affair. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  18,  to  Saturday,  Dec.  22.  Bad  weather, 
cold  and  snow.  Owing  to  difficulty  of  getting  about  I  am 
refusing  nearly  all  invitations.  Taxis  few :  buses  full :  tubes 
liable  to  be  blocked  with  people  taking  refuge  on  an  air- 
raid night.  The  Boches  came  Tuesday  night  when  the  moon 
was  very  young.     They  arrived  in  relays  from  6.30  p.m., 


1917]  COX  ON  GERMAN  MOVES  157 

and  firing  went  on  until  9  p.m.  About  ten  people  killed 
and  seventy  wounded.  One  bomb  fell  outside  the  court- 
yard of  the  Russian  Embassy.  Busy  with  my  review  of 
the  past  year  of  war  for  the  Times.  Called  in  one  day  to 
have  a  talk  with  Cox,  of  the  Intelligence,  who  knows  much 
of  the  German  dispositions.  He  tells  me  that  21  German 
divisions  have  moved  East  to  West  in  the  past  three  months 
since  Sept .  1 .  But  12  have  moved  West  to  East  in  the  same 
time.  Also  5  have  moved  from  the  East  to  Italy,  and  3 
from  the  West  to  Italy.  So  there  is  only  an  increase  of  6  in 
the  West  on  balance.  As  to  the  future,  he  reckons  that  with 
all  possible  skinning,  Germany  may  send  38  divisions  more 
from  East  to  West,  but  more  probably  only  30,  and  he  counts 
the  German  divisions  now  to  be  between  15,000  and  1G,000 
all  ranks,  excluding  field  depots  and  communication  troops. 
So  we  may  expect  from  500,000  to  600,000  more  Boches 
in  the  West,  but  no  more.  He  is  also  inclined  to  limit  the 
number  of  Austrian  divisions  that  may  come  West  to  10 
in  number,  and  he  admits  Alsace  as  a  likely  theatre.  He 
puts  down  12  divisions  of  Bodies  to  be  able  to  come  West 
per  month.  Maurice  and  Cox  both  think  that  6  divisions 
besides  about  100,000  Boche  drafts  have  come  West  during 
the  past  three  months.  Cox  and  I  are  inclined  to  agree 
with  the  North  German  Gazette,  that  the  attack  on  Italy 
may  be  hung  up  till  the  spring,  when  the  enemy  would 
rather  have  the  Italians  on  the  Piave  than  on  the  Adige. 
Till  then  the  enemy  may  prefer  to  hold  the  Italians  between 
the  pincers,  ready  to  be  nipped  when  the  moment  comes. 
Maurice  thinks  that  the  Trentino  is  not  a  good  jumping-off 
place  in  the  winter  for  large  Armies  which  want  so  much 
in  these  days,  and  I  agree. 

Lloyd  George  on  Thursday  made  a  speech  in  the  House 
before  it  1 

Sunday  to  Suiu/di/,  I)tc.  23  to  30.  A  quiet  week  during 
which  I  have  remained  al  home  and  almost  finished  the  first 
volume  of  my  Mmioirs.  Things  have  been  fairly  quiet  on  all 
front  -, hill  Admiral  Jellicoe  lias  been  ret  ired  from  the  position 
of  Kir  t  Sea  I  oid  t  hi-  week  and  Admiral  .Sir  Rosslyn  Wemysa 


158       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

put  in  his  place.  I  met  at  lunch  on  Thursday,  27th,  F.M. 
Lord  French,  Sir  William  Pulteney  and  his  bride,  and 
Sir  Arthur  Paget.  Putty's  account  of  Cambrai  is  not 
cheering.  The  Bodies,  to  the  number  of  6  divisions,  came 
on  in  massed  formations  like  a  steam  plough,  and  burst 
in.  The  55th  Division  gave  way,  and  then  the  20th  and 
12th,  and  the  Boches  reached  our  guns  and  took  most  of 
them ;  but  the  Guards  counter-attacked  successfully,  many 
guns  were  retaken,  and  things  more  or  less  re-established. 
Putty  says  that  the  chief  defence  was  made  by  small  groups 
of  old  soldiers,  including  gunners  and  oddments,  and  that 
the  Boche  did  not  know  what  to  do  when  he  had  burst  in. 
Putty  says  that  the  divisions  had  enough  machine  guns 
to  mow  down  the  enemy  as  he  was  mown  down  at  Mcevres, 
but  he  thinks  that  our  officers  have  become  so  bad  that  the 
Army  is  not  worth  50  per  cent,  of  what  it  was  in  1914, 
which  is  not  good  hearing  at  all  when  we  look  like  being 
attacked  in  force  in  February  or  March.  Lord  French  and 
A.  P.  very  vexed  because  Wemyss  seems  to  have  guaranteed 
the  safety  of  England  against  oversea  attack  by  anything 
over  30,000  men,  and  the  War  Cabinet  is  using  this  to  im- 
poverish Home  Defence,  which  is  being  greatly  reduced. 
French  says  that  they  seem  to  look  upon  war  as  if  it  were 
a  game,  and  that  he  has  told  the  War  Cabinet  again  that 
he  refuses  to  be  responsible,  though  he  still  tells  them  that 
he  would  do  as  they  do  in  their  place.  A.  P.  says  that  he 
has  now  only  cripples  on  the  beach  and  that  there  will  be 
nothing  behind  them.  The  A4  men  are  to  strengthen  the 
beach  crowd,  and  the  lower  categories  to  go  to  munitions 
to  replace  the  young  men  to  be  combed  out  from  there. 
The  Southern  Army  will  exist  no  longer. 

I  lunched  with  Sir  W.  Robertson  on  Friday,  28th,  and 
we  had  a  good  talk.  He  is  decidedly  anxious  about  the 
outlook,  and  particularly  fears  that  the  Versailles  War 
Council  will  begin  to  hurry  troops  about  directly  the 
Boches  make  their  first  feints,  regardless  of  time  and 
space,  and  that  the  soldiers  will  not  be  allowed  to  manage 
matters.     He   has   seen   Haig,  and  Haig    will  see   Petain 


1917]  A  DEFENSIVE  CAMPAIGN  FORESEEN    159 

and  have  all  the  plans  ready  for  mutual  support.  We 
are  all  digging  in  and  wiring  up  hard,  though  very  late, 
in  anticipation  of  a  big  attack,  the  principle  now  being 
that  we  are  to  fight  a  defensive  campaign  for  some 
months.  He  does  not  know  whether  Foch  will  take  a 
hand  with  him  and  Haig  and  Retain,  but  he  has  sent  to 
inquire.  Foch  may  have  views  about  Versailles  and 
may  wish  to  direct  the  war,  but  we  shall  see.  Meanwhile 
R.'s  plan  is  to  have  everything  settled  in  advance  so  that 
any  wild  schemes  propounded  ma)'  be  brought  to  naught. 
R.  is  critical  of  our  leading  engineers,  who  have  not  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  this  war,  while  the  German  sappers 
have.  I  said  that  I  heard  that  G.H.Q.  in  France  did  not 
send  its  own  officers  often  enough  l  round  the  fronts  to  check 
things  and  see  for  themselves.  I  reminded  him  of  Moltke's 
missi  dominici,  and  of  Napoleon's  practice,  and  thought 
that  though  the  system  was  not  popular,  it  was  valuable 
if  carried  out  tactfully,  and  R.  says  that  he  will  see  what 
can  be  done  to  initiate  it.  I  told  him  that  I  heard  from 
regimental  officers  that  our  lines  about  Poelcapelle  were 
very  bad  indeed,  and  with  no  proper  defences.  Bertie 
Lawrence  has  replaced  Chartcris — a  good  man  and  should 
do  well.  R.  says  that  our  generals  have  been  so  busy 
witli  the  offensive  all  the  year  that  they  have  not  studied 
ihf  d<-irn>ive,  and  (hat  there  is  only  the  short  bit  of  front 
from  Armentieres  to  Lens  that  is  the  same  as  it  was  in 
.lime  1916.  Consequently  the  new  sectors  are  not  defended 
as  the  Boche  lines, occupied  for  three  years,  are  defended; 
and  on  the  territory  evacuated  and  ravaged  by  the  Bodies 
everything  has  had.  to  be  created — roads,  railways, 
magazines,  and  even  quarters.  But  tilings  will  now  go 
forward  briskly.  R.  says  that  the  Italians  are  nearly 
I  Ik-  i  1 1  <  1 1 1  \  in  their  front  now  and  may  be  able 
to  hold  the  had  line  where  they  are  standing.  Bui  lie 
saye   thai    their  bactiec   axe   bad,  and   that    they  get    their 

1  This  criticism  was  probably  due  to  the  fad  thai  owing  to  the  condi 
tioni  "f  trenofa  warfare,  comparatively  fen  Baw  the  Stafl  officers  when  they 
wcro  inspecting  the  front  lines,  as  they  constantly  did. 


160       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

infantry  massacred  and  do  not  understand  the  co-operation 
between  infantry  and  guns.  It  is  more  that  than  courage 
that  they  lack.  R.  thinks  that  we  cannot  spare  any  more 
divisions  for  Italy,  and  that  Diaz  ought  to  be  told  to  pan 
out  with  what  he  has.  R.  has  had  to  tell  Haig  that  few 
drafts  can  now  be  sent  to  him. 

R.  says  that  Jellicoe  has  been  dismissed  for  the  same 
reason  that  he,  R.,  soon  would  be.  Jellicoe  was  a  pessimist, 
but  had  been  always  right,  for  instance  when  he  had  told 
L.  G.  that  the  output  of  ships  could  not  possibly  amount 
to  the  figure  which  had  been  given.  Jellicoe  was  always 
pouring  cold  water  on  L.  G.'s  fervent  imagination  and 
bringing  him  down  to  the  earth,  and  L.  G.  did  not  like  it. 
The  Americans  had  also  let  us  down  about  ships.  They  had 
promised  6,000,000  tons,  but  there  had  been  a  confusion 
between  gross  tons,  net  tons,  and  dead  weight  capacity, 
and  the  figure  given  had  been  gross  weight  capacity  and 
not  net  tons,  the  three  figures — dead  weight,  gross  tonnage, 
and  net  tonnage — standing  in  the  proiDortion  of  8,  5,  and 
3  for  the  particular  ships  designed.  So  the  6,000,000  tons 
came  down  to  2,000,000  !  A  nice  mistake  to  make  on  such 
a  vital  subject  ! 

The  Americans  were  coming  along  very  slowly.  R. 
had  just  seen  Leonard  Wood,  who  is  here  and  says  that  there 
are  not  150,000  men  in  France  yet,  and  that  not  more  than 
25,000  are  arriving  per  month,  which  is  a  great  disappoint- 
ment and  not  half  of  the  figure  that  Joffre  promised  me. 
Perhaps  he,  too,  was  misled  about  the  transport  figures. 
Tom  Bridges's  figures  have,  however,  proved  correct.  R. 
also  says  that  the  Americans  are  not  getting  their  rifles  and 
guns  as  they  expected,  and  that  they  had  made  the  great 
mistake  of  not  using  our  plant  in  America,  which  could 
have  supplied  8000  rifles  in  the  time  now  taken  by  the 
U.S.  to  make  600.  Also,  we  had  now  to  make  the  6-inch 
howitzers  for  the  Americans,  and  R.  did  not  know  how 
the  field  gun  question  stood. 

An  account  of  the  War  Cabinet  after  an  air  raid  made  us 
all  nearly  die  of  laughter.    After  every  little  raid  on  London, 


1917]  AIR-RAID  COMEDIES  161 

the  whole  War  Cabinet,  shaking  in  its  shoes  after  the 
bombing,  assembles  with  all  the  Ministers,  Lord  French, 
General  Shaw,  and  the  Air  Board  people  and  makes 
the  devil  of  a  fuss  for  two  hours  trying  to  find  a  scape- 
goat. Then  French  says  that  he  has  not  been  given  the 
aeroplanes  promised,  which  is  true.  Then  the  War  Office 
is  abused,  and  they  show  that  they  have  not  got  them. 
Then  they  are  ordered  back  from  France,  and  then  comes 
a  Bet-back  in  the  ah-  in  France,  and  the  machines  are  sent 
back  again,  whereupon  follows  a  new  raid  on  London,  and 
all  the  tiling  begins  again.  The  Boche  would  burst  with 
laughing  if  he  knew  what  fools  he  was  making  of  us,  and 
all  the  time  there  are  a  hundred  raids  on  our  men  in 
France  for  one  here.  Moral — always  bomb  the  seat  of 
Government  when  you  can. 

Joined  a  party  who  talked  of  Press  manipulations. 
There  is  a  question  whether  Allenby  is  to  go  on.  There 
i-  a  party  in  Cabinet  that  wants  to  '  knock  out  the  Turk,' 
and  so  there  may  be  an  advance,  but  we  have  to  go  a 
long  way  before  we  arrive  at  territory  which  at  all 
interests  the  Turk,  and  meantime,  what  will  happen  in 
France  {  But  time  and  space  were  things  unconsidered  by 
the  Kindergarten.  We  all  agreed  that  the  Turk  and  Bulgar 
were  deadly  sick  of  war,  which  they  had  been  carrying  on 
for  rive  years,  and  that  if  we  left  them  alone  they  would 
leave  us  alone. 

The  Mission  to  Paris  of  Milner  and  Bob  Cecil  is,  I  hear, 
to  discuss  how  the  anti-Bolshevists  in  South  Russia  can 
be  aided  by  us  without  risk  to  our  relations  with  the  Bol- 
shevists ;  in  fact,  to  see  how  we  can  run  with  the  hare  and 
hunt  with  the  hounds.  It  ought  to  be  quite  easy  for  this 
War  Cabinet. 

A  soldier  friend  writes  as  critical  a  letter  about  our 
defences  on  the  Oambrai  front  as  another  one  does 
about  those  "ii  the  Poelcapelle  side.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  our  defence  are  still  very  incomplete.  The  55th 
Division  was  holding  a  front  of  1U,UUU  yards  when  it  was 
broken. 


162       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

I  saw  Fagalde  before  he  went  to  France,  and  begged 
him  to  bring  back  a  clear  idea  of  what  Clemenceau, 
Petain,  and  Foch  want  to  do  about  the  Versailles  soldiers 
and  the  future  command  in  the  West.  Fagalde  quite 
understands,  and  I  said  that  I  wanted  to  know  the  French 
views  in  order  to  support  them  if  I  could,  and  that  I  did 
not  know  at  this  moment  what  their  ideas  were  after  all 
the  recent  incidents. 

Saw  Jack  Cowans,  who  says  that  Plumer  is  indenting 
for  all  kinds  of  strange  new  things  for  Alpine  warfare,  of 
which  the  W.O.  have  not  even  samples,  and  that  it  will 
take  three  months  to  have  any  one  of  them  ready.  Plumer 
is  at  Padua  with  one  Corps,  the  other  is  on  the  Piave  on 
the  Montello.  I  said  that  I  doubted  whether  Plumer 
would  ever  get  on  to  the  Alps. 

Sammy  Scott  and  I  walked  back  together  from  the 
W.O.  to  lunch  at  my  club.  Crowe,  who  is  now  liaison 
officer  in  Italy,  came  and  told  us  a  few  things  about  the 
situation  there  ;  neither  very  good  nor  very  bad.  He  also 
says  that  the  Italians  are  fighting  well  enough,  but  cram 
too  many  troops  into  their  front  lines.  Sam  has  seen 
Hamilton,  who  has  told  him  more  about  the  retreat  :    he 

says  that  the lost  seventeen  batteries,  and  have  never 

owned  to  it.  Sammy  would  not  admit  that  Home  Defence 
was  as  bad  as  I  thought  it.  He  was  very  flattering  about 
his  chief,  Derby.  The  W.O.  continues  to  be  a  happy  family 
and  holds  together.  I  would  not  accept  an  invitation  for 
to-night  even  to  see  Lily  Elsie's  return  to  the  stage.  Perry 
Robinson  sends  a  charming  letter  about  an  article  of  mine 
in  yesterday's  Times.  We  hear  that  three  destroyers  have 
been  lost  off  the  Dutch  coast.  Lady  Clifford  asks  me  to 
Devonshire.     Too  far. 

Monday,  Dec.  31.  Lunched  with  Sir  W.  and  Lady  Pul- 
teney  at  the  Ritz.  A  good  many  people  lunching  there. 
Putty  and  I  told  stories  of  our  youthful  days  from  Eton 
onward.  Had  a  talk  with  him  alone  afterwards.  He 
does  not  think  that  the  Bodies  can  beat  us  in  France, 
but  admits  that  the  battalions  are  very  weak.     He  thinks 


J917]  THE  CAVALRY  AT  CAMERA]  163 

that  the  Bochea  may  retake  Welsh  Ridge  and  Highland 
Ridge  at  Oambrai,  as  they  are  salients.  Bits  of  them  were 
bitten  off  yesterday.  He  has  had  50  divisions  through 
his  hands  in  the  3rd  Army  Corps  since  the  war  began. 
He  does  not  think  that  the  G.H.Q.  come  often  enough 
round  the  fronts,  but  at  Cambrai  a  number  turned  up, 
including  X.,  and  Putty  told  him  that  lie  must  be  unwell. 
Putty  is  all  for  the  West,  but  thinks  we  must  wait  a  bit  to 
Bee  whether  the  Bodies  are  going  to  strike  at  us  in  the  East, 
now  that  their  hands  are  more  free. 

I  had  some  talk  with  General  Hull  afterwards.  He  says 
that  the  order  in  which  he  would  put  our  needs  are,  first, 
barbed  wire  obstacles,  next  machine  guns,  and  trenches 
only  third,  as  the}'  can  be  destroyed  at  any  time.  He 
wants  the  wire  to  be  in  three  rows,  each  five  yards  broad 
as  a  minimum,  and  the  more  wire  the  better.  He  admits 
that  our  defences  are  most  defective,  and  that  battalions 
are  very  weak,  and  second  and  third  lines  of  defence 
greatly  neglected.  He  thinks  that  the  divisional  com- 
manders arc  the  most  important  people  in  the  Army,  but 
that  Army  Corps  and  Army  commanders  should  supervise 
more,  and  see  that  things  are  properly  done.  It  is  agreed 
thai  the  Boche  sappers  have  done  much  better  than  ours. 
Putty  puts  it  down  to  the  fact  that  sappers  are  such  slaves 
to  authority,  thai  unless  a  thing  comes  from  the  top,  it 
often  does  not  come  at  all. 

I  also  met  General  Kavanagh,  commanding  the  Cavalry 
<  "ij'  in  France,  whom  1  had  not  met  before  all  through 
the  war.  The  cavalry  are  in  good  order  and  have  plenty 
of  machine  guns  and  Hotchkiss  automatic  rifles,  which 
are  nio.-l  useful.  The  Indian  cavalry  are  the  survival  of 
the  fittest,  and  very  good  indeed.  He  had  all  five  divisions 
reaclj  at  Cambrai,  bul  one  was  taken  from  him  by 
G.H.Q.  and  given  to  the  4th  Army  Corps  very  late,  and 
this    lost     piirjoii-,    hours,   and    they  struck    tOO    late   owing 

to  contradictory  orders,  while  others  were  held  up  by  a 
canal.     It  was  a  near  thing  thai  the  cavalry  did  not  break 

through     completely.     The     Boohe     infantry     surrendered 


i64       FIRST  MUTTERINGS  OF  A  STORM 

freely  to  our  cavalry,  and  K.  thinks  that  with  the  present 
type  of  troops  the  cavalry  may  be  able  to  do  wonders. 
Hull  thinks  that  we  want  pompoms  firing  armour-piercing 
shells,  in  case  the  Boches  produce  Tanks,  and  he  wants 
two  pompoms  per  machine-gun  company.  Kavanagh  says 
that  he  has  neither  seen  nor  heard  of  Boche  cavalry  since 
Menin  days  in  1914,  but  they  may  now  turn  up  from  the 
Eastern  front. 

There  is  an  unconfirmed  report  to-night  that  L.  G.  is 
going  to  Paris  to  discuss  with  Clemenceau  a  reply  which 
may  be  sent  to  the  German  peace  offer  to  Russia,  which 
suggests  that  the  Allies  should  join  in  a  peace. 

The  end  of  a  dramatic  year.  The  crumbling  of  Russia, 
the  Italian  defeats,  the  U-boat  successes,  and  the  slow 
advent  of  the  Americans  have  all  been  serious  for  us,  and 
if  the  war  goes  on  we  shall  have  a  hard  time.  The  Germans 
are  suffering  greatly,  while  we  are  only  grumbling,  and  are 
short  of  butter,  bread,  meat,  and  sugar,  largely  owing  to 
bad  management,  but  it  is  only  an  affair  of  grumbling  and 
not  of  serious  hardship  yet.  The  real  point  of  danger 
is  the  War  Cabinet,  which  is  without  the  courage  to  face 
the  music  of  facts. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 
THE  ARMY  .STARVED  FOR  MEN,  JANUARY  1918 

lh<  Lamingtona  and  the  deaf— Trade  Union  and  woman  labour — 
NbrthclinVs  Viscountcy — Irish  coast  watched  1>\  Sinn  Feinera — 
German  movement  West — German  losses  in  1917 — The  War  Cabinet 
hopeless — Reason  why  the  Home  Defence  standard  was  lowered — 
Fallacious  arguments — Sir  Arthur  Paget's  opinion — Talk  with  F.M. 
Sir  Douglas  Haig  at  Eastcott — He  is  1 1 1,000  infant  i  y  under  st  length — 
We  must  either  make  war  or  peace— Mr.  Lloyd  George's  treatment 
of  Sir  D.  Haig — Our  position  described — Reasons  for  food  shortage — 
Questions  to  be  discussed  at  the  next  Allied  War  Council — The  Ver- 
.-aillcs  military  Committee  wish  to  transfer  our  main  effort  to  Turkey 
— Supposed  plans-Wild  Eastern  schemes— Haig  compelled  to  take 
over  more  front— The  War  Cabinet  stint  men.  and  our  divisions  havo 
to  I"  I'duecd-  The  situation  in  Southern  Russia — An  inspection  of 
our  S.E.  coast  defences — Richborough — I  resign  my  position  on  the 
Times — Admiral  Lord  Jellicoe  on  invasion — His  treatment  and 
dismissal. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  2.  Lunched  with  Lord  and  Lady 
Lamington  at  17  Chester  Street.  Their  house  in  Wilton 
Crescent  i>  given  ,,|,  t0  training  the  deaf,  but  the  Govern- 
ment  is  throwing  every  obstacle  in  their  way  and  declaring 
that  they  will  not  brook  any  competition,  although  they 
are  not  doing,  and  cannot  do,  the  work  themselves.  L. 
gave  me  another  example  of  the  futility  of  the  Government. 
Mr.  Firmingei  had  trained  80  women  to  take  the  place  of 
80  men  in  his  steel  works.  When  the  time  came  for  the 
Women  1<>  begin  work,  the  I'liion  stepped  in  and  refused 
permission.  L.  tells  me  h<>\\  Northcliffe's  Viscountcy  is 
generally  regarded.     1  am  certainly  left  almost  alone  to  fight 

the  case  <»f  the  Army  for  men.  It  is  a  public  misfortune 
that  the   Northcliflc  IVess   does   nut  support  me.      Only  the 

M>>- .  ing  Post  and  Qlobi  are  playing  the  game  by  the  Army. 

166 


166         THE  ARMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

Thursday,  Jan.  3.  Had  a  talk  with  Lord  Derby  at  the 
W.O.  in  the  afternoon.  He  is  deeply  concerned  about 
getting  the  men  we  need,  and  does  not  see  them  coming.  I 
criticised  L.  G.  and  the  War  Cabinet  severely.  I  told  him 
that  I  rarely  came  to  see  him  (Derby)  because  he  had  made 
the  W.O.  a  happy  family,  and  that  all  was  going  well,  but 
that  when  it  was  not,  I  should  begin  worrying  him.  He  does 
not  know  that  any  one  will  be  degomme  over  Cambrai.  He 
asked  me  how  to  acknowledge  the  work  of  our  leading 
soldiers  and  of  Haldane  in  organising  our  forces  before  the 
war.  I  suggested  an  arranged  question  in  the  Lords,  and 
he  asked  me  to  draft  one  and  to  suggest  a  Peer  to  ask  it.1 

Friday,  Jan.  4.  Had  tea  with  Lady  Juliet,  who  is  looking 
well.  A  pleasant  talk.  We  lament  that  the  war  allows  us 
no  time  to  read  books,  but  agree  that  it  is  a  joy  to  dip  into 
some  classic  now  and  then.  She  is  dipping  into  Froissart 
and  Voltaire  just  now.  We  suppose  that  ten  years  hence 
we  shall  all  have  to  live  on  what  we  can  earn.  She  is  going 
to  be  a  typist  and  to  teach  French,  also  Russian  to  those 
who  do  not  understand  it.  Hacket  Pain  came  to  see  me 
before  he  went  back  to  his  command  in  Ulster.  He  thinks 
that  Ulster  has  not  changed  at  all,  also  that  the  higher 
R.C.  priesthood  are  against  Home  Rule.  He  has  24,000 
men  and  is  all  for  Conscription  if  applied  to  all  Ireland. 
He  says  that  there  is  no  real  touch  between  the  Army  and 
Navy  in  Ireland.  He  was  inspecting  at  Lough  S willy  when 
a  convoy  of  30  ships  put  out.  They  were  attacked  by 
submarines  and  lost  two  ;  the  rest  scattered.  He  finds  that 
the  Navy  coast  watchers  are  Sinn  Feiners  !  All  the  Ulster 
Volunteers  have  their  rifles  still,  and  he  is  redistributing  them 
to  guard  against  a  Sinn  Fein  raid.  The  Ulstermen  know 
that  all  is  well  while  he  remains  in  command,  and  so  keep 
quiet.    General  Richardson  is  still  in  command  of  the  U.V.F. 

An  interesting  dinner  at  Claridge's  with  a  well-known  man. 
We  began  on  politics,  and  he  said  that  L.  G.  was  a  bit  shaky 
as  Labour  did  not  love  him,  the  old  Liberals  were  waiting 
for  his  blood,  and  many  Conservatives  distrusted  him.    So  his 

1  On  consideration  I  did  not  do  so. 


1918]       LOSSES  OF  THE  BELLIGERENTS         167 

safest  course  was  to  do  nothing  drastic,  and  this  would  deter 
him  from  taking  the  bold  course  of  asking  for  the  men 
needed.  The  best  thing  would  be  for  Labour  to  refuse  to 
march  until  Ireland  was  conscripted.  In  the  West  the  Boche 
had  now  157  divisions  and  were  arriving  at  the  rate  of  8  per 
month,  or  the  equivalent  in  drafts.  At  the  earliest  they 
might  be  ready  to  strike  by  the  middle  of  February.  We 
had  6-4  divisions,  the  French  99,  the  Belgians  8,  the 
Americans  4,  and  the  Portuguese  2 ;  total  177.  Ho 
thought  that  the  Boche  figure  would  soon  be  195 
divisions,  and  it  might  be  necessary  for  them  to  strike 
soon.  They  had  withdrawn  some  of  their  divisions  from 
Italy,  and  looked  like  withdrawing  all.  One  had  been 
located  in  France,  and  probably  two  others.  The  Boche 
heavy  artillery  would  be  superior.  He  did  not  think,  how- 
ever, that  the  Boche  gunners  could  fire  more  shells  than 
they  had  last  year,  but  the  larger  number  of  their  guns 
would  be  an  advantage  to  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Boche  guns  were  much  worn,  and  we  were  steadily  replacing 
our  worn  guns  by  new.  Haig  would  have  3000  new  field 
guns.  We  were  hard  at  work  digging  and  wiring,  and 
though  we  had  not  time  to  make  such  elaborate  fortifica- 
tions as  the  Boches  had  made,  we  ought  to  be  fairly  safe. 
The  Boche  losses  in  1917  have  been  carefully  estimated  in 
London,  by  our  G.H.Q.,  and  by  the  French.  The  total 
came  to  1,800,000  according  to  London,  to  1,900,000 
according  to  G.H.Q.,  and  to  2,220,000  according  to  the 
French  calculation.  The  Boche  net  loss  is  estimated  at 
500,000  for  the  year.  Though  we  had  done  most  of  the 
fighting,  our  total  casualties  were  780,000  for  the  year  and 
the  French  700,000.  Tin-  Bodies  have  ceased  publishing 
their  casualty  lists,  but  as  we  have  three  years  of  their 
figures,  we  can  form  a  pretty  correct  estimate.  Wo  are 
said  to  want  only  650,000  drafts  for  L918,  perhaps  on  the 
umption  that  we  shall  be  on  the  defensive  most  of  the 
tune,  lb*  toM  DM  that  the  G.S.  had  asked  for  2,000,000 
men  last  January  and  for  L5  new  divisions.  They  have 
not   asked   for  new    divisions  DDK    beoause  they  did  not   sec 


168         THE  ARMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

their  way  to  maintenance,  and  still  less  to  increase,  but 
I  hoped  that  they  might  repeat  their  demands  or  it  would 
be  thrown  in  their  teeth  that  they  had  not,  if  anything 
went  wrong  later. 

He  thought  the  War  Cabinet  quite  hopeless.  They  could 
not  understand  the  simplest  things,  but  the  French  Ministers, 
brought  up  among  military  surroundings,  were  much  quicker 
in  the  uptake.  L.  G.  was  still  all  for  the  East.  He  had 
asked  when  Allenby  would  get  to  Aleppo.  It  was  370  miles 
from  Jerusalem,  and  our  railway  could  only  go  half  a  mile 
a  day.  Granet  and  others  had  gone  into  the  question 
whether  it  was  best  to  prolong  our  broad-gauge  line  or  to 
build  rolling  stock  for  the  Turkish  line,  and  had  decided  for 
the  first  course.  L.  G.  had  asked  that  Allenby  should  take 
Dan,  no  doubt  in  order  to  say  to  his  Welsh  revivalists  that 
he  had  taken  the  Holy  Land  from  Dan  to  Beersheba.  In 
spite  of  all  warnings  and  shortage  of  tonnage  the  War  Cabinet 
were  still  pressing  on  the  Eastern  campaigns.  We  had  lost 
two  ships  carrying  drafts  to  the  East  this  week,  but  fortun- 
ately the  men  were  all  saved.  It  was  impossible  to  make 
the  War  Cabinet  understand  strategy  or  to  realise  that  the 
G.S.  views  were  not  personal  idiosyncrasies,  but  conclusions 
drawn  impersonally  from  experience.  In  politics  it  was 
different,  and  personalities  all  had  their  relative  values. 
The  War  Cabinet  was  L.  G.  All  the  rest  said  ditto  to  him, 
or  concealed  their  differences  if  they  did  not.  They  frankly 
admitted  that  they  wanted  to  have  a  second  military  opinion, 
and  this  is  why  they  set  up  the  Versailles  body,  which  was 
out  of  touch  with  policy,  intelligence,  and  the  fighting 
Armies,  and  could  give  no  opinion  of  value.  The  Versailles 
soldiers  had  sent  in  a  few  memoranda,  mostly  general  prin- 
ciples, such  as  two  and  two  make  four,  and  of  no  actual 
value  in  forming  plans.  But  the  Cabinet  were  as  pleased 
as  Punch  with  their  offspring,  and  thought  it  wonderful. 

Meantime  Haig  and  Petain  had  come  to  an  agreement. 
Each  had  allocated  an  identical  proportion  of  their  forces 
as  a  general  reserve,  and  the  Staffs  were  working  out  the  train- 
marches  of  these  troops  so  that  Haig  might  help  Petain,  and 


1918]  SLOW  AMERICAN  PROGRESS  169 

vice  versa.  But  if  both  were  attacked,  it  might  be  difficult, 
and  many  people  were  for  a  single  commander,  in  principle, 
though  all  saw  the  political  objections  to  it.  There  was  a 
danger  of  our  reserves  being  rushed  about  needlessly,  for 
example,  if  Italy  began  to  squeal.  People  doubt  that  Austria 
wants  to  go  on  or  bo  Bend  troops  to  France,  but  she  may  send 
some  guns.  She  has  not  yet  withdrawn  a  single  division 
from  the  Rumanian  front.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the 
Germans  are  withdrawing  Von  Below's  Army  from  Italy,  as 
it  must  be  hard  to  maintain  it  in  the  mountains.  It  takes 
long  also  to  equip  a  division  for  mountain  warfare.  We 
are  going  to  equip  two  in  this  way,  and  it  will  take  us  three 
months.  The  Boches  have  only  the  one  Alpine  Corps,  and 
it  is  really  only  a  division. 

America  was  coming  on  very  slowly.  The  4th  Division 
was  <»nlv  now  arriving  in  France  where  the  numbers  were  not 
over  140,000.  Most  Americans  believed  that  they  had  over 
half  a  million  men  in  France,  and  would  be  very  disgusted 
when  they  learnt  the  truth.  The  U.S.  Parliamentary  Com- 
mittees were  beginning  to  examine  things,  and  all  the  faults 
would  come  out.  The  Americans  were  not  using  their 
merchant  ships  sufficiently,  and  were  leaving  too  many  at 
their  normal  commercial  work.  Also,  the  American  decision 
not  to  use  our  plant  in  America  for  turning  out  our  rifles, 
8-inch  and  92-inch  guns,  etc.,  had  proved  disastrous,  and 
America  had  not  yet  turned  out  a  single  heavy  gun  as  she 
had  mil  her  the  tools  nor  the  workmen.  She  had  been  bluffed 
by  M.  Thomas  into  accepting  French  guns  and  so  had  not 
accepted  our  field  guns  and  had  also  chosen  <  he  French  calibre 
of  9*5-inch  instead  of  our  9-2-inch,  and  so  all  new  plant  for 
it  had  to  be  made  in  America  and  was  not  yet  ready.  We 
only  expect  six  divisions  to  be  in  Prance  by  the  middle  of 
February,  Inn  hope  thai  arrivals  will  soon  he  speeded  up. 

Guillaumal     had     reached     Salonika,    and     had     reported 

the  British  and  [taliao  troops  t<>  be  good  and  well  found 
and  the  French  troops  t<>  be  the  reverse.  This  is  what 
we  have  been  saying  all  along.     There  seems  no  hope  of 

withdrawing  more  of  our  divisions  now  that    we  have  the 


170         THE  AKMY  STAKVED  FOR  MEN 

new  Greeks  and  the  Serbs  on  our  backs.  It  is  thought  that 
in  case  of  a  serious  attack  we  could  withdraw  to  the  Larissa 
(Thermopylae)  line  and  hold  it.  We  could  get  our  troops 
back  there,  but  might  lose  some  of  our  magazines  and 
dumps. 

Allenby  was  doing  well.  His  strategy,  both  in  the 
original  advance  and  in  the  last  affair,  had  been  bold  and 
original.  His  thrusts  with  his  left  had  been  excellent. 
In  this  last  affair  the  German  '  Tigris  Ein  '  division  had 
taken  part,  and  250  prisoners  from  it  had  been  captured. 
'  Tigris  Zwei '  was  on  its  way  to  help.  Allenby  will  see 
that  my  instinct  was  correct  when  I  wrote  and  told  him 
that  this  would  happen,  after  he  had  written  to  say  he 
thought  that  they  would  go  to  Mesopotamia.  But  they 
came  too  late.  The  total  fighting  strength  of  the  enemy 
is  placed  at  50,000,  and  Allenby's  at  85,000,  so  he  is  sure 
to  be  all  right.  I  think  it  possible  that  the  enemy  may  not 
know  Allenby's  fighting  strength.  It  is  thought  that  the 
G.S.  hope  in  time  to  draw  Indian  troops  from  Mesopotamia 
and  to  make  up  Allenby's  force  into  an  Anglo-Indian  Army. 
This  will  be  practicable  because  Monro  has  done  so  well 
in  raising  new  troops.  Then  it  will  be  possible  to  withdraw 
many  white  battalions  from  Palestine  to  France.  A  good 
scheme  I  think. 

We  then  talked  of  the  new  Home  Defence  scale.  I  was 
assured  that  we  have  had  138,000  men  on  the  coast,  and 
150,000  mobile  reserve  all  told.  The  Dominion  reserves 
here,  and  the  normally  75,000  leave -men  from  France,  were 
all  so  well  looked  after  that  they  could  be  drawn  upon,  if 
necessary,  immediately.  The  leave-men  would  go  to  the 
depots  and  act  as  Lord  French's  first  reserves.  He  could 
have  280,000  men  in  48  hours.  What  had  now  been  done 
had  been  to  reduce  50,000  men  of  the  mobile  reserve.  I 
must  try  to  get  the  exact  figures. 

The  reason  why  the  scale  of  defence  had  been  lowered 
was  as  follows : 

The  sailors  have  been  asked  certain  questions.  Can 
we  be  sure  of  hearing  if  a  convoy  carrying  certain  troops 


1918]     ADMIRAL  \\  K.MVSS  AND  INVASION       171 

for  invasion  leaves  ( he  <  Serman  coasts  ?  The  sailors  answer  : 
Yes,  when  the  convoy  is  drawn  out  to  sea  and  marshalled. 

Second  question  :  What  may  be  the  size  of  a  manageable 
convoy,  of  what  tonnage,  and  how  many  troops  can  it  take 
with  ammunition  and  ten  days'  supplies  of  all  sorts  ? 

Answer  :  Not  more  than  30  ships  can  be  handled  in  one 
convoy,  of  4000  tons  each  on  an  average,  and  the  whole 
might  carry  30,000  men. 

Third  question  :  Can  the  sailors  insure  the  interception 
of  this  convoy  and  the  prevention  of  a  landing  ? 

Answer  :   No. 

Fourth  question  :  Can  the  sailors  intercept  a  second 
convoy  of  the  same  size  ? 

Answer  :   Yes. 

Fifth  question  :  How  soon  can  the  Grand  Fleet  effectively 
intervene  1 

Answer  :   In  32  hours  from  the  receipt  of  the  warning. 

It  is  apparently  owing  to  these  naval  assurances  that 
the  standard  of  security,  which  Lord  Roberts,  Lord 
Lovat,  Sir  Samuel  Scott,  and  I  forced  upon  the  Defence 
Committee  in  1907,  has  been  lowered.  But  we  are  not 
asked  to  admit  that  this  implies  an  alteration  of  the 
old  70,000  scale  in  normal  times.  The  change  is  thought 
justified  because  the  Navy  is  all  mobilised  and  at  its  war 
stations;  because  much  of  the  waters  of  the  German 
coasts  and  ours  is  mined  ;  and  because  we  have  the  men 
already  on  the  beach  and  deeply  dug  in,  with  plenty  of 
machine  guns.  I  am  assured  that  no  Government  here- 
aftei  would  be  so  mad  as  lo  fail  to  see  the  difference  between 
thi-  situation  and  normal  conditions.  Would  they  not? 
1  wondei  !  Admiral  Wemyss  is  defending  the  30,000  scale 
particularly  against  Jellicoe,  who  has  represented  and 
criticised  all  the  dubious  points  in  the  argument,  and  it 
was  partly  because  Jellicoe  would  not  accept  the  new 
standard  thai  he  was  dismissed. 

Ii  is  honourable  of  Jellicoe  to  have  stood  his  ground.  I 
am  dubious  whether  we  have  so  many  troops  available 
;it  home  a-  my  friend  declares,  because  Lord  BVenoh  and 

V<U..     U.  N 


172         THE  ARMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

his  commanders  have  always  given  me  much  smaller  figures. 
As  for  the  naval  assurances,  I  said  that  they  hypothecated, 
as  certain,  things  which  were  in  my  opinion  distinctly  un- 
certain. I  thought  that  our  submarine  watchers  off  the 
German  coast  might  be  driven  away  and  that  warning  was 
uncertain  ;  that  the  limitation  by  our  sailors  of  the  number 
of  ships  and  their  tonnage  was  purely  arbitrary,  and  did 
not  correspond  with  anything  I  knew,  either  with  regard 
to  ships  available  in  Germany  or  tonnage  required  per 
man  ;  that  the  interception  of  a  second  convoy  depended 
on  the  result  of  the  meeting  of  the  two  fighting  fleets,  which 
was  also  uncertain  ;  and  that,  finally,  as  I  had  Beatty's 
definite  statement  that  he  refused  to  be  bound  by  any 
undertaking  as  to  time  and  place  for  the  intervention  of 
the  Grand  Fleet,  I  was  not  prepared  to  accept  anybody 
else's  assurances  on  the  subject.  Apparently  the  Germans 
are  not  to  be  permitted  to  use  all  their  great  fast  ships 
and  liners,  but  only  to  use  those  which  suit  our  lowered 
standard  of  security.  We  might  just  as  well  hypothecate 
a  German  Army  composed  exclusively  of  Landsturm. 

A  letter  which  I  found  from  a  distinguished  naval  officer 
on  my  return  home  did  not  cause  me  to  feel  much  happier 
about  the  changes  at  the  Admiralty. 

Saturday,  Jan.  5.  Went  down  to  dine  quietly  at  Coombe 
with  Sir  A.  Paget  and  to  talk  Home  Defence.  I  told  him 
the  figures  that  I  had  been  given,  and  he  told  me  that  in 
his  opinion  they  were  valueless  unless  it  were  understood 
that  the  men  lining  the  beach  were  cripples,  all  B  and  C 
men,  and  that  the  mobile  reserve  behind  were  largely 
boys  of  18  to  19,  very  keen  good  boys,  but  impressionable 
and  partially  trained,  with  bad  officers.  He  had  been  told 
that  Lord  French  could  not  bring  up  his  reserve  till  the 
third  day,  and  Sir  A.  thought  that  if  a  convoy  with  30,000 
men  could  reach  the  coast  of  Kent  they  could  land  under 
cover  of  smoke-screens  and  their  ship's  fire  in  boats  with 
steel  shields  which  would  be  proof  against  machine  gun 
and  rifle  fire  :  30,000  Boches  would  be  in  Maidstone  by  the 
third  day,  and  he  had  no  confidence  that  he  could  stop  them. 


1918J  HAIG'S  DEFICITS  17 3 

Many  of  his  men  oil  the  beach  had  long  fronts  to  defend 
and  held  them  very  thinly.  His  cyclists,  on  which  he  relied 
as  first  reinforcements,  Mere  being  taken  away  for  Ireland, 
and  three  out  of  his  four  divisions  behind  were  to  be  scrapped 
to  make  up  the  horrible  deficits  of  the  Army  in  France. 
He  had  represented  it  all  a  dozen  times,  and  we  both  thought 
Lord  French  to  be  unduly  optimistic,  and  did  not  agree 
with  hi>  practice  of  telling  the  War  Cabinet  that  he  would 
run  the  same  risks  that  they  were  doing.  This  course 
panders  to  their  cowardice  in  not  asking  for  men. 

Sunday,  Jan.  G.  Walked  round  to  see  F.M.  Sir  Douglas 
Haig  at  Eastcott.  He  is  home  on  ten  days'  leave,  and, 
in  reply  to  a  letter  of  mine,  had  wired  to  ask  me  to  see 
him.  He  began  at  once  about  the  failure  to  maintain 
and  increase  the  Army  in  France.  He  had  been  short 
all  the  year,  and  never  less  any  month  than  70,000 
infantry,  except  on  an  occasion  when  he  had  combed 
out  35,000  men  from  his  rearward  service.  He  was  now 
114,000  infantry  down,  and  this  represented  between 
one-sixth  and  one-seventh  of  his  rifle  strength.  He  has 
not  seen  the  A.G.  since  he  came  over,  but  believes  that 
there  are  few  drafts  in  sight,  and  declares  that  though  the 
continuation  of  the  Flanders  offensive  is  the  best  way  he 
knows  of  attracting  and  using  up  the  Boches,  he  cannot  go 
on  with  it  if  he  is  not  adequately  supplied  with  drafts. 
He  has  fixed  up  matters  with  Petain  about  mutual  support, 
and  he  has  now  22  divisions  in  reserve,  or  about  one-third 
of  his  forces,  while  Petain,  who  has  only  99  divisions,  now 
has  rather  more  in  reserve  in  proportion.  He  expects  a 
Boohe  offensive  by  sea  and  land,  and  probably  an  attack 
on  land  in  two  or  three  places. 

II'  told  me  that  Kiggell  was  leaving  him,  as  the  doctors, 
iii' hiding  Dr.  ihiringham,  had  reported  that  he  was 
Buffering  from  nervous  exhaustion  due  to  strain,  and, 
though  there  was  nothing  organically  wrong  with  him,  he 
Deeded  rest.  11.  was  sorry  to  lose  him,  aa  h<- was  so  sound, 
honest,  and  hard-working.  U.  means  to  take  Lawrence 
Ul    his    place.      He    had    intended    X.    to    succeed    Kiggell, 


i74         THE  AEMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

but  had  found  that  he  was  not  favourably  considered. 
Haig  thinks  that  in  the  difficult  times  ahead  Lawrence's 
comparative  youth  and  activity  may  prove  valuable. 

The  F.M.  was  very  critical  of  our  conduct  of  the  war,  say- 
ing that  we  should  either  make  war  or  make  peace.  L.  G.  has 
been  to  see  him  when  he,  L.  G.,  was  being  criticised,  and  had 
practically  accused  him  of  inciting  journalists  against  the 
Government.  This  accusation  he  had  vehemently  repudiated. 
He  had  asked  the  P.M.  to  name  one  journalist  incited.  The 
P.M.  named  S.,  whereupon  Haig  said  that  he  would  write  to 
him,  but  the  P.M.  begged  him  not  to  do  so.  L.  G.  threatened 
a  counter-offensive,  and  asked  Haig  what  he  would  say  if  he, 
L.  G.,  described  Haig's  offensive  as  useless  slaughter  when 
he  spoke  at  the  Guildhall,  and  if  he  said  that  the  men  had 
been  smothered  in  mud  and  blood.  Haig  answered  that  he 
would  consider  such  a  speech  to  be  highly  unpatriotic,  and 
then  went  on  to  tell  me  that  the  spirit  of  an  Army  was  a 
delicate  plant,  and  would  not  remain  uninfluenced  at  last  by 
the  constant  attacks  against  its  leaders.  He  said  that  if 
L.  G.  did  not  like  his,  Haig's,  leading  he  should  remove  him. 

The  F.M.  asked  me  what  I  thought  the  Boche  would  do. 
I  said  I  supposed  that  he  would  attack  as  Haig  had  sketched 
out,  but  that  the  concentration  in  the  West  was,  after  all, 
natural,  and  might  fit  in  with  an  intention  to  stand  in  a 
strong  attitude  if  peace  negotiations  began,  as  the  civilian 
element  in  Germany  obviously  desired.  H.  is  due  to  appear 
before  the  War  Cabinet  to-morrow,  and  asked  me  what 
they  were  thinking  and  whether  they  were  much  alarmed 
about  the  position.  I  said  that  I  thought  that  they  were 
sufficiently  alarmed,  and  that  L.  G.'s  speech  yesterday  to 
the  Labour  Unions,  with  the  throwing  over  of  Russia  and 
the  closer  approach  to  the  Boche  peace  ideas,  showed  it. 
But  I  said  that  if  we  alarmed  them  too  much  we  should 
get  a  weak  compromise  peace  and  all  would  have  to  be 
begun  again  later.  After  all,  we  had  as  many  Boche  divi- 
sions against  us  last  spring,  when  we  were  taking  the 
offensive,  as  we  had  now,  though  how  many  more  there 
were  to  come  up  was  another  matter. 


1918]  HAIG  ON  THE  SITUATION  175 

I  asked  about  Cambrai.  He  thought  that  our  men 
had  had  such  an  easy  time  in  smashing  through,  that  they 
had  become  careless.  They  scut  out  patrols  in  the  morning, 
but  when  these  came  in  the  men  were  at  breakfast  and  were 
surprised  to  some  extent,  and  three  divisions  had  given 
way.  Ho  did  not  blame  any  of  his  commanders.  He, 
Haig,  considered  himself  responsible  for  the  British  front, 
and  though  he  would  send  Petain  all  the  troops  he  could 
spare  were  Petain  hard  pressed,  he  was  bound  to  make  his 
own  front  safe.  This  would  have  been  the  same  when 
Nivelle  was  practically  put  over  him,  had  the  latter  tried 
to  impound  too  many  of  his  troops.  He  thought  that 
the  Bodies  would  this  year  bring  up  a  superiority  of  guns, 
and  that  our  men  might  have  to  stand  the  hammering  that 
we  gave  the  Bodies  in  1916  and  1917.  But  he  had  confidence 
in  our  artillery,  which  was  good,  and  we  expected  to  have 
1000  more  aeroplanes  than  the  Bodies,  while  the  French 
promised  to  have  5000  in  all,  and  he  thought  that  they 
might  have  4000.  The  Armies  were  entrenching  hard, 
but  all  our  new  ground,  and  especially  the  devastated  area, 
required  a  lot  of  labour. 

We  agreed  as  to  the  origin  of  the  whole  fictitious  feeling 
manufactured  against  the  soldiers.  Haig  said  that  he 
only  regarded  the  P.M.  as  x,  and  did  not  care  who  he  was, 
so  long  as  he  was  a  white  man  and  had  no  axe  to  grind,  and 
no  political  game  to  play.  He  thought  that  old  Clemenceau 
had  I  .ecu  quite  splendid.  Haig  got  on  admirably  with 
I''  tain.  H.  expects  only  25  more  Boche  divisions  to  come 
West.  He  meant  to  hold  his  lines  weakly,  but  they  would 
be  strong  in  themselves. 

lie  wants  the  Americans  to  come  to  us,  and  he  wishes 
gradually  to  build  up  American  divisions  under  our  wing 
and  instructions.  He  thought  that  the  Americans  were 
not   training  their  Stall's.     Pershing  had  made  one  Corps 

Stall',    I. ul    had   placed   (i  divisions  in    it,  ami    Haig  thought 

this  too  much,  as  a  Corps  <>f  2  divisions  was  quite  enough 

for    a    Corps    Stall'    to    handle.       EEalg    WOUld    like    1<»    make 

good  our  deficit    with  American  recruits,  but  1   thought 


i76         THE  AEMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

this  dangerous,  as  if  anything  went  wrong  it  might  cause 
the  old  American  antagonism  against  England  to  revive, 
and  we  were  bound  to  prevent  this  from  happening. 

Haig  thought  that  the  worst  of  our  position  in  France 
was  that  it  lacked  depth,  and  we  could  not  afford  to  go 
back  in  several  sectors,  while  the  French  could  retreat 
without  inconvenience.  I  spoke  about  Robertson  and 
all  his  splendid  work  here.  Haig  acknowledged  it  and 
said  he  and  R.  were  on  the  best  of  terms,  and  that  he 
thought  that  it  would  be  disastrous  were  R.  to  be  replaced. 
The  F.M.  looked  very  fit  and  well. 

Lunched  with  Sir  Arthur,  his  sister,  and  Colonel  Stuart. 
The  latter  is  back  from  commanding  a  district  in  the  south 
of  the  Soudan.  All  is  quiet  there  and  in  Egypt.  Harvey 
Pasha  is  home,  disgusted  with  the  exposure  of  his  chief 
secret-service  agent,  who  has  got  seven  years,  and  his  wife 
two,  for  taking  bribes  from  rich  men  to  let  them  off  arrest 
for  crimes. 

Returned  to  London  and  played  a  rubber  or  two  with 
the  Grand  Duke  Michael  and  Countess  Torby,  Lady  Mar, 
and  Lady  Paget.  The  Countess  fuming  about  the  supposed 
action  of  Buchanan  in  setting  the  Revolution  going.  They 
were  both,  also,  very  cross  because  the  Army  Council  had 
been  unable  to  get  their  boy  a  commission  unless  he  became 
a  British  subject.  I  thought  that  I  had  arranged  the 
matter  with  Joey  Da  vies,  but  it  seems  that  there  is  a  political 
difficulty,  and  the  King,  they  say,  is  furious  about  it.  Lady 
Mar  looking  very  well  and  bonny. 

Monday,  Jan.  7.  Spent  the  morning  reading  Sir  Douglas 
Haig's  Despatch  of  Dec.  25.  A  remarkable  paper,  very 
clear  and  good,  and  conveying  an  excellent  resume  of  these 
lengthy  operations.  Particularly  illuminating  on  the  sub- 
ject of  plans  and  drafts.  Lunched  with  Belle  Herbert 
and  Colonel  Sir  Douglas  Dawson.  Afterwards  saw  Lord 
French  and  had  a  talk  with  him  about  his  troops  and 
invasion.  He  wants  500,000  men  to  make  the  country 
safe,  which  is  near  Lord  K.'s  figure  of  600,000,  bub  has  only 
four  divisions  left  besides  the  troops  on  the  beach.     He 


1918]  HOME  FOOD  SUPPLIES  177 

is  also  critical  of  the  quality  of  men  and  officers.  He 
considers  that  the  new  naval  standard  is  absurd,  and  says 
that  Wemysa  and  Co.  remind  him  of  children  playing  a 
game. 

Lady   Ridley   writes  from   Blagdon,   that   she  considers 
L.  G.'s  speech  a  bid  for  peace  negotiations,  and  thinks  that 
he  must  have  failed  to  move  Labour  in  the  combing-out 
question.     Also,  she    thinks   that    he    has   a   panic   about 
the  food  shortage.     Lady  R.  says  that  the  sudden   meat 
failure  is  an  unnecessary  disaster,  and  entirely  caused  by 
Government  mismanagement.     She  says  that  her  agent  and 
the  farmers  are  foaming  at  the  mouth.     The  Government 
accepted  all  risks  to  fix  a  low  price  for  wheat  in  August 
last  :    their   COs.   entirely  stopped  production  ;    had  they 
made  it  75s.  ail  would  have  been  well.     It  is  the  same  with 
the  cattle;    all  that  time  there  were   more  beasts   in  the 
country  than  ever  before,  but  since  the  fixing  of  maximum 
prices,  there  has  been  wholesale  slaughtering.     She  thinks 
the  Government  mad,  and  that  it  is  supply  that  matters 
and  not  price.     She  thinks  that  the  people  will  stop  the 
war  if  they  are  not  fed,  and  says  that  20,000  inhabitants 
of  a  mining  village  near  her  had  only  six  beasts  last  week. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  9.  President  Wilson's  speech  was 
much  discussed  when  I  lunched  to-day  with  Mr.  and  Mis. 
McKenna,  Nabokoff,  and  Bardac  at  Lady  Paget's.  Then 
we  turned  on  to  the  Press,  and  I  made  some  strong  com- 
ments on  the  way  that  L.  G.  had  nobbled  it  and  chloro- 
formed public  opinion.  McK.  thought  that  it  would  take 
an  interminable  time  without  victory  to  arrange  a  peace 
upon  the  President's  terms,  or  L.  G.'s.  Nabokoff  very 
keen  for  us  to  assist  Southern  Russia,  but  could  not  tell 
us  how  to  get  1  here. 

Later  1  met  a  distinguished  Frenchman  from  Paris,  and 
he  told  me  things  which  gave  me  great  concern.  I  passed 
them  onto  the  quarter  interested,  and  the  Frenchman  and 
I  agreed  to  meel  to-morrow.  A  friend  and  I  discuf  ed 
Home  Defence.  H<-  assures  me  thai  before  the  recenl 
change    which  will  diminish  our  forces  by  four  divisions  at 


178         THE  ARMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

home,  we  had  199,000  mobile  troops  available  for  the  whole 
of  Great  Britain,  and  166,000  for  Coast  Defence.  Including 
other  services,  there  were  410,000  available  for  Home  Defence, 
the  balance  including  anti-aircraft  troops,  etc.  The  new 
change  would  reduce  the  mobile  troops  to  140,000,  and  the 
total  to  351,000.  This  may  be  right  or  wrong,  but  even  if 
right  it  is  250,000  less  than  the  figure  which  Lords  Roberts 
and  Kitchener  stipulated  for  Home  Defence ,  and  the  quality 
of  our  Home  defenders  is  very  poor. 

Dined  with  Lady  Juliet  Duff  and  Mrs.  Astor  at  16  Upper 
Brook  Street.  A  very  pleasant  dinner  with  these  two  delight- 
ful ladies,  and  we  had  a  great  talk  about  men  and  women. 
Juliet  had  read  my  Diary  of  my  last  French  visit  and  had 
been  delighted  with  it,  and  wanted  to  read  more.  Another 
man  came  in,  and  then  we  had  some  Bridge  till  Lady 
Cunard  came  in,  when  we  chatted  again. 

Thursday,  Jan.  10.  The  Frenchman  and  I  continued  our 
interrupted  conversation.  He  said  that  two  great  questions 
were  going  to  be  raised  at  the  next  Allied  War  Council,  namely, 
the  plan  for  1918 — not  yet  settled ! — and  the  question  of  unity 
of  command.  The  Versailles  soldiers,  Foch,  Cadorna,  and 
Wilson,  appear  to  have  settled  it  among  themselves  that  we 
are  to  transfer  our  main  effort  to  Turkey  this  winter  and  to 
stand  on  the  defensive  in  France.  They  have  sent  in  a 
paper  in  this  sense.  My  French  friend  supposes  that  both 
Robertson  and  Petain,  as  well  as  Haig,  will  oppose  this  mad 
scheme,  and  I  trust  they  will ;  but  my  friend  says  that  if 
Policy  points  out  Turkey  to  Strategy  as  a  ripe  fruit  which 
Strategy  must  cull,  it  could  not  refuse. 

I  demurred,  and  said  that  Strategy  was  not  a  slave,  and  had 
to  be  consulted.  How  was  the  new  campaign  to  be  conducted? 
He  said  that  the  French  were  to  land  at  Alexandretta,  we 
were  to  pursue  the  offensive  in  Palestine  and  Mesopotamia, 
and  the  Japanese  were  to  be  asked  to  take  Constantinople 
and  open  the  Straits  !  I  think,  also,  that  either  the  Japanese 
or  the  French  were  to  carry  out  the  Venizelos  scheme.  I 
said  that  I  did  not  believe  that  the  Japanese  would  consent, 
as  the  East  alone  concerned  them,  and  all  my  inquiries  had 

r 


1918]  MAD  STRATEGY  179 

shown  that  they  invented  pretexts  about  tonnage,  and  so  on, 
to  refuse  the  co-operation  of  their  Armies  in  the  West,  and 
I  did  not  blame  them,  aa  the  Wes1  was  not  in  their  bond. 
He  said  that  the  Japs  were  ready  to  land  at  Vladivostok 
and  save  .Siberia  from  becoming  Bolshevist  and  a  granary 
for  Germany,  but  tiny  wanted  to  go  there  alone,  and  the 
Americana  did  doI  approve  of  this  plan. 

I  said  that  the  Turkey  plan  must  be  submitted  on 
some  settled  basis.  It  was  time  enough  to  talk  of  the 
Japanese  when  we  knew  that  they  would  come,  and 
then  that  they  would  come  in  adequate  force.  As  for  the 
other  movements,  it  would  take  long  for  Allenby  to 
reach  Aleppo  when  he  could  only  carry  his  railway  along 
at  the  rate  of  not  much  over  half  a  mile  a  day,  and  as  for 
Mesopotamia,  the  campaigning  season  was  passing,  and 
our  L.  of  C.  was  already  a  terrible  length.  Moreover,  I 
objected:  What  profitethitustogainthewhole  Eastern  world 
and  lose  France — our  soul  ?  How  could  any  sane  man 
propose  to  carry  out  these  wild  Eastern  schemes  when  nine 
French  departments  were  in  Boche  hands  and  this  great 
Boche  concentration  in  the  West  was  in  progress  ?  I  thought 
that  people  must  be  absolutely  mad  to  talk  of  such  things. 
Would  Clemenceau  lend  himself  to  such  folly  ?  My  French 
friend  thought  that  Clemenceau  was  now  completely  in 
Foch's  hands.  Clemenceau  was  cJiambre  in  a  magic 
circle  which  allowed  no  one  to  approach  the  President 
of  the  Council.  My  friend  said  that  he  could  not 
approach  him  himself,  and  that  Clemenceau's  private 
secretary,  an  old  friend,  had  admitted  that  Mordacq  had 
givtii  orders  that  Clemenceau  was  not  to  be  allowed  to  see 
him!  By  these  means,  said  my  friend,  Clemenceau  hears 
onrj  one  note  always  struck,  and  he  would  not  come  to 
London  for  a  War  Council,  alleging  that  he  was  too  old  to 
travel,  bo  the  Council  would  again  meel  at  Versailles. 

Foch,  said  t  lie  Frenchman,  was  playing  to  be  ginSralissime. 
Hi-  was  master  ol  Clemenceau,  and  what  Foch  thought 
Clemenceau  also  thought.  I  said  that  it  seemed  to  me  in- 
conceivable that  '  The  Tiger '  could  be  so  changed,  bul  I  was 


i8o         THE  ARMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

assured  that  it  was  so,  and  that  all  Paris  was  talking  about  it, 
and  also  about  coming  changes  in  our  G.H.Q.  in  France.  It 
was  thought  that  Haig  would  be  replaced  by  Robertson, 
and  the  latter  by  Wilson.  Then,  when  Robertson  was 
kicked  out,  who  would  succeed  him  ?  I  thought  Allenby, 
and  I  confessed  that  I  did  not  know  why  he  had  suddenly 
returned  to  Cairo.  I  could  only  say  that  the  Allied  world 
seemed  to  have  taken  leave  of  its  senses.  My  friend  also 
told  me  that  Haig  had  agreed,  under  pressure,  to  take  over 
the  front  of  the  3rd  French  Army  to  Barisy,  much  against 
his  will,  and  that  the  move  begins  to-day  and  will  take  a 
month. 

All  this  was  bad  enough,  but  worse  followed.  I  learned 
from  other  sources  that  the  War  Cabinet,  instead  of  rinding 
means  to  provide  the  615,000  drafts  needed  by  the  Army  in 
1918,  had  only  arranged  to  find  100,000  A  men  for  General 
Service,  besides  the  120,000  boys  which  the  Army  would  get 
naturally  in  the  first  half-year.  The  War  Office  has  sent  in 
a  good  clear  criticism  showing  the  inevitable  ruin  of  the 
Army  owing  to  the  cowardice  of  the  War  Cabinet  and  its 
refusal  to  tell  the  public  the  truth.  The  W.O.  has  been 
compelled  to  issue  orders  to  reduce  all  divisions  in  France 
from  12  to  9  battalions  of  infantry,  and  is  also  breaking  up 
four  of  the  Home  Defence  divisions  for  drafts  in  order  to  make 
up  part  of  the  120,000  men  deficit.  This  is  terrible  and  will 
mean  the  reduction  of  our  infantry  in  France  by  one-fourth, 
and  confusion  in  all  our  infantry  at  the  moment  of  coming 
crisis.  I  have  never  felt  so  miserable  since  the  war  began, 
and  the  whole  Cause  of  the  trouble  is  the  shameful  poltroon- 
ery and  strategic  incompetence  of  the  War  Cabinet.  The 
country  has  only  to  be  told  the  truth  to  accept  any  sacrifice, 
but  L.  G.  dares  not  face  the  music,  and  the  Tory  dummies  in 
his  War  Cabinet  are  mere  ciphers.  I  can  say  very  little 
because  the  editor  of  the  Times  often  manipulates  my 
criticisms  or  does  not  publish  them.  I  am  telling  people 
these  things  as  I  refuse  to  be  identified  with  a  policy  of 
concealing  the  truth  from  the  public  any  longer,  and  I  now 
openly  express  my  disapproval  of  the  policy  of  coddling  the 


1918]   DAWSON'S  LATE  PROMISE  TO  REFORM   181 

War  Cabinet  pursued  by  Geoffrey  Dawson  for  many  months 
past,  and  partly,  if  not  largely,  the  cause  of  the  present 
trouble.  The  Northclilfe  Press  1  is  playing  a  despicable  role 
just  now,  and  if  the  "Times  does  not  return  to  its  old  inde- 
pendent line  and  act  as  watchdog  of  the  public,  I  shall  Mash 
my  hands  of  it. 

Dined  with  the  Scarbroughs.  He  had  returned  late  after 
giving  his  vote  in  the  Lords  for  female  suffrage,  but,  as  ho 
said,  without  conviction.  Belle  Herbert, the  Maguires,  Lady 
Randolph,  and  Mr.  Macpherson,  U.S. of  S.  for  War,  also  there. 
Mrs.  Maguire  asked  me  if  it  was  I  rue  that  my  criticisms  were 
cut  out  by  the  Times,  and  I  said  that  they  often  were.  I  told 
Macpherson  that  the  Army  Council  would  have  to  take  a 
strong  line  to  save  the  country.  M.  seems  a  good  man.  He 
is  of  medium  height,  clean-shaved,  well-groomed,  and  looks 
intelligent.  The  W.O.  speak  well  of  him,  and  he  has  kept 
up  his  wicket  well.  But  Derby  and  the  Army  Council  are  no 
good  or  they  would  resign  rather  than  see  all  these  criminal 
follies  perpetrated,  and  all  their  warnings  disregarded. 

Friday,  Jan  .11.  Dawson  writes  that  he  returned  to  work 
yesterday  and  that  I  must  take  it  as  a  sign  of  restored  health 
that  he  has  begun  by  publishing  quite  intact  the  first  article 
of  mine  that  he  could  lay  his  hands  on.  A  trifle  late  to  re- 
form .  The  harm  is  done .  I  write  an  account  of  the  situation 
and  tell  him  how  serious  it  is,  and  that  I  have  had  to  recon- 
sider my  position.  I  beg  him  to  take  a  strong  line  and  to 
fall  upon  the  War  Cabinet  and  either  kill  the  Turkey  scheme 
or  let  me  do  it.  I  tell  him  that  on  public  grounds  I  may 
not  be  able  to  go  on  as  I  cannot  stand  by  and  see  the  War 
Cabinet  coddled  and  saved  by  the  Times  when  I  think  it  i-> 
exposing  our  Armies  to  defeat.  At  the  same  time,  I  told 
him  that  it  was  indeed  an  agreeable  surprise  to  me  to 
;  .hi  article  ol  mine  in  the  form  that  1  had  written  it . 

Lun<]i<<l  wiih  Sir  James  and  Lady  Craig  at  6  Victoria 
Square.    Their  fcwo  boys,  Sir  John  and  Lady  Lonsdale — ho 

1  I  neither  saw,  not  had  any  communication  with  Nbrthcliffe  from  the 
day  he  srenl  to  America  until  I  lefl  the  Timet,  I  'I"  nol  know  liis  views 
■  ■I.  th<  -■  mat  < 


182         THE  AEMY  STAEVED  FOE  MEN 

has  just  been  made  a  peer  and  cannot  decide  on  a  title — 
and  Lady  Lugard,  perhaps  more  celebrated  as  Flora  Shaw. 
We  had  a  long  and  very  frank  talk. 

Saturday,  Jan.  12.  Sir  A.  Paget  sends  me  the  figures 
of  his  Southern  Army.  They  gave  a  fighting  strength 
of  73,960  on  Oct.  22  last.  The  four  sectors  of  Ipswich, 
Clacton,  Latchington,  and  Kent  gave,  respectively,  12,649, 
21,716,  11,637,  and  23,538  men,  while  the  Reserve  consists 
of  the  Cyclist  Division  of  4426  combatants.  But  the 
strength  on  Jan.  1,  1918,  is  only  58,527,  and  Paget  says  that 
if  the  71st  Division  and  5th  Cyclist  Brigades  are  taken  from 
him,  as  proposed,  he  will  be  13,000  weaker,  which  will  make 
it  45,000. 

I  asked  at  the  War  Office  this  morning  whether  they 
accepted  the  French  figures  of  170  German  divisions  now 
in  France.  They  do  not  admit  them  yet,  and  say  that  they 
are  based  on  theoretical  estimates  of  troop  transport :  I 
suppose  on  Foch's  maximum  of  15  German  divisions  a 
month.  Churchill  made  a  rather  alarmist  speech  about  the 
German  concentration  yesterday.  I  hope,  late  as  it  is, 
it  may  induce  him  to  abandon  his  Eastern  proclivities 
and  to  make  others  abandon  theirs.  How  can  any  sane 
man  go  on  with  these  follies  in  the  East  when  this  menace 
impends  in  the  West  ? 

Lunched  with  E.,  Gladys  Unger,  and  some  others, 
including  a  Georgian,  M.  D.  Ghambashidze,  a  very  clever 
fellow,  and  a  Canadian,  Mr.  Armstrong,  who  appears  to 
respond  for  him.  G.  says  that  Bessarabia,  the  Ukraine, 
the  Don,  Kuban,  Trans-Caucasia,  Turkestan,  Khiva,  and 
Siberia  are  all  setting  up  independent  States  and  want  us 
to  send  representatives  to  them,  and  not  only  to  the  Bol- 
shevists. He  says  that  the  bulk  of  the  population,  wealth, 
and  intelligence  of  Russia  is  in  the  South,  and  that  they 
don't  care  a  hang  for  artificial  Petrograd  and  the  hobble- 
dehoys of  the  marshes  and  forests  of  the  North.  He  wants 
us  to  act  by  the  Trans-Siberian  and  to  allow  Japan  to 
accaparer  this  route.  Also,  he  says  that  we  should  open  up 
the  line  through  Persia.     I  told  him  that  the  Boches  will 


1918]  SOUTHERN  RUSSIA  183 

probably  advance  on  Kief!  and  Odessa  in  the  spring  to 
seize  the  food  supplies.  He  .•-ays  that  German  banks  have 
been  established  in  Kiefi  and  elsewhere  and  are  lending 
money  freely  to  make  t he  people  believe  that  Germany  is 
the  friend.  He  is  most  sarcastic  about  our  Foreign  Office 
and  our  Propaganda,  and  says  that  both  are  utterly  useless. 
As  for  our  films,  lie  says  that  every  Russian  regards  soldiers 
who  are  not  dressed  like  Russians,  including  ours,  to  be 
Boches,  so  the  films  do  more  harm  than  good.  The  people 
don't  want  films,  they  want  cigarettes,  tea,  money,  and 
munitions,  and  the  Boche  travellers  bring  the  first  three, 
and  are  gradually  salting  Southern  Russia  while  the  Allies 
do  nothing.  The  South  hate  the  Bolshevists.  Trans- 
Caucasia  has  5700  trained  officers.  We  make  the  mistake 
of  asking  them  how  many  rifles  and  guns  they  can  place  in 
the  field,  which  makes  the  people  suspicious,  whereas  we 
should  just  ask  them  what  they  want  and  try  to  help  them. 
The  Federation  of  Black  Sea  Republics  is  coming  along. 
Some  Bolshevists  came  to  Tiflis  on  propaganda.  They 
were  put  up  against  a  wall  and  shot.  I  do  not  know  whether 
( ;.  is  w  hat  he  pretends  to  be  or  not,  but  he  is  certainly  very 
clever  and  well  informed  in  his  special  subject. 

Sunday,  Jan.  13.  Lunched  with  Mrs.  Keppel :  Violet 
and  Sonia  looking  very  pretty  :  General  Ferdy  Stanley 
and  his  wife,  young  Michael  Torby,  Villiers,  Mrs.  Rupert 
Beckett,  Mrs.  Robert  Grosvenor,  and  a  nice  sailor.  One 
of  the  party  told  us  a  story  of  Sir  X.  X.  and  Lady  X. 
at  Windsor.  The  King  had  recommended  some  tinned 
salmon,  and  had  praised  its  cheapness,  8d.  a  lb.  Lady  X. 
was  asked  by  the  King  how  she  liked  it,  and  she  replied  thai 
it  was  tiad.  She  complained  that  she  had  a  wretched  night 
between  the  effects  of  the  bad  salmon  and  the  reproaches 
of  Sir  X.  X.  for  complaining  of  the  King's  food.  Stanley 
very  amusing.  Mrs.  K.  and  1  had  8  talk  aboul  affairs  after 
the  reel  had  left.     I  went  to  see  Lady  Byng  afterwards. 

Monday  and  Tuesday,  Jan.  14-15.  I  took  the  oppor- 
tunity of  looking  round  the  8.B.  coast  defences  before  Sir 
Arthur  Paget  gave  up  hi-  command,  and  had  a  \ •  1  \  nit'  rest 


184         THE  ARMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

ing  inspection  these  two  days.  Met  Sir  A.  P.  at  Victoria, 
and  travelled  to  Whitstable  with  him  and  his  A.D.C.,  Rupert 
Higgins.  Here  we  inspected  the  17th  Hampshire  Regiment 
on  parade,  and  then  went  on  to  Hampton  Hill,  where  we 
witnessed  combined  firing  of  Lewis  and  Maxim  guns,  occupy- 
ing the  sector  Hampton  Pier-Herne  Bay  Pier,  at  targets 
out  to  sea.  We  then  inspected  the  35th  Northumberland 
Fusiliers,  15th  Devons,  and  11th  Somerset  L.I.,  near  Heme 
Bay,  and  lunched  at  the  Connaught  Hotel.  General  Smith, 
recently  in  Palestine,  was  in  command  of  above  sector. 
General  Ovens  came  next  at  Reculver.  We  inspected  his 
Minnis  Bay  sector,  where  all  the  positions  were  fully  maimed, 
and  the  eight  Lewis  guns  near  Minnis  Bay  Hotel  opened  fire, 
while  two  field  guns  behind  the  Minnis  Bay  Hotel,  flanking 
the  beach,  were  shown  to  us.  We  inspected  the  26th  Durham 
L.I.  on  Westgate  Golf  Course,  and  stayed  the  night  at  the 
Queen's  Hotel,  Margate — a  very  good  and  comfortable  house. 
Brig. -General  Oxley,  Captains  Hoskins  and  Higgins,  and  a 
few  others  there,  including  Joe  Laycock,  who  has  about  80 
guns  in  this  command  under  him.  Joe  and  I  had  a  talk 
till  late  and  compared  notes  on  current  events.  On  Tuesday 
we  started  at  9.30  a.m.  and  inspected  a  good  coast  brigade 
consisting  of  the  36th  Northumberland  Fusiliers,  18th 
Yorkshire  Regiment,  and  27th  Durham  L.I.,  near  Nash 
Court.  Then  we  went  on  to  Manston  Aerodrome  and  in- 
spected the  extensive  building  of  the  R.N.  Air  Service  here, 
under  Caj)tain  Smythe  Osborne.  Thence  on  to  the  Inland 
Water  Transport  works  at  Richborough,  and  saw  much  of 
this  wonderful  establishment.  Then  on  to  Sandwich,  and 
saw  the  trenches  manned  on  the  Bay  opposite  the  Goodwins, 
and  also  sawr  some  firing.  Lunched  at  the  St.  George's 
Golf  Club.  Saw  the  new  musketry  camp,  and  a  mobile 
battery  which  seemed  pretty  good.  As  it  was  now  raining 
hard  we  abandoned  the  last  inspection  of  another  brigade, 
and  motored  to  Canterbury,  whence  Sir  A.  motored  back 
to  Brentwood,  while  Higgins  and  I  returned  to  London. 
General  Cis  Bingham,  commanding  the  67th  Division,  was 
with  us  most  of  the  time. 


1918]  OUR  COAST  DEFENCES  185 

Generally  speaking,  I  thought  the  defences  unlikely  to 
resist  a  Berioua  attack.  The  trenches  are  fairly  good, 
but  the  barbed  wire  is  very  narrow,  and  the  men  holding 
them  very  thin.  On  a  forty -mile  front  there  are  only  the 
three  coast  brigades.  Hardly  any  Vickers  guns,  and  only 
a  few  Maxims:  the  rest  Hotchkiss  and  Lewis  guns,  which 
are  only  automatic  rifles,  and  the  Hotchkiss  nearly  always 
jammed.  The  idea  is  to  bring  cross  and  Hanking  fire  over 
all  the  accessible  beaches,  but  any  covering  fire  of  ships, 
or  a  smoke  screen,  would  enable  troops  to  land  without 
great  loss.  There  are  some  strong  points,  behind  which 
could  be  put  up  a  bit  of  a  fight,  but  except  the  three  strung- 
out  coast  brigades,  the  only  reserve  now  will  be  some  3000 
cyclists  at  Canterbury.  The  gun-fire  is  poor;  just  a  few  of 
the  old  15-prs.  and  some  47  guns,  and  a  Stokes  mortar 
or  two.  The  men  of  the  coast  brigades  only  moderate,  and 
nearly  all  of  B  category ;  unable  to  march  far.  The  regimental 
officers  looked  indifferent  with  a  few  exceptions.  Bingham's 
division  is  due  to  move  to  Colchester  and  cannot  get  back 
to  the  Kent  sector  under  36  hours.  Last  night  a  Boche 
warship  bombarded  Yarmouth,  yet  the  commander  of  the 
Southern  Army  never  had  news  of  it — a  fresh  example  of 
the  want  of  touch  between  the  coast  defence  authorities. 

I  should  say  that  15,000  Bodies  could  take  Canterbury  and 
raid  the  Inland  Water  Transport  at  Richborough  and  the 
aerodrome.  The  absence  of  reserves  owing  to  the  break-up 
of  the  divisions  hitherto  in  reserve  is  noticeable. 

I   looked   at    the    Sop  with   fighting   aeroplanes   and   the 

I I  ndley-Page  bombing  aeroplanes  at  Mansion.  The  former 
can  make  1 L0  miles  an  hour  at  10,000  feet,  and  has  a  French 
engine.  The  Handley-Page  weighs  four  tons  empty  and  six 
with  ere*  and  bombs.  They  carry  five  men  and  sixteen 
1121b.  bombs.  They  are  for  night  work,  and  go  75  miles 
;ui  hour  with  two  Rolls-Royce  engines,  each  260  horse 
power.  They  are  to  have  four  :>.~>o  horse-power  engines,  \\  hen 
fchej  should  go  90  miles  an  hour.  The  propellers  arc  below 
the  winge  <>n  each  side.  There  is  a  good  gun  position  forward 
with  ;i  fine  field  "f  fire.    The  pilol  and  observer  sit  behind. 


i86         THE  AKMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

Another  gun  fires  in  two  positions  towards  the  rear.  The 
bombs  drop  out  from  inside  the  car  or  centre  of  the  body. 
They  should  be  formidable  machines  when  more  strongly 
engined,  but  are  pretty  useful  now.  Their  wings  fold. 
The  Boche  seems  hardly  to  have  found  this  aerodrome 
yet,  but  when  he  does  he  should  make  a  mess  of  it. 

The  Inland  Water  Transport  establishments  are  very 
wonderful.  They  are  the  creation  of  General  Collard,  now 
at  the  Admiralty.  They  cover  an  immense  area,  and  much 
has  been  done  to  reclaim  land,  dig  or  enlarge  canals,  make 
piers,  and  so  on .  On  the  main  pier  or  wharf  there  are  twelve 
great  travelling  cranes,  including  two  of  five  tons  each. 
Here  are  loaded  up  the  ships  and  barges  carrying  most 
of  the  heavy  stuff  for  France.  There  is  a  4000-ton  ship 
which  takes  a  train  of  sixty  wagons  as  it  stands  with  its 
load,  carries  it  to  Dunkirk  or  Calais  where  it  is  unloaded 
on  to  rails  again,  and  goes  on  to  the  front  without  breaking 
bulk.  There  is  an  arrangement  at  the  end  of  the  pier 
which  allows  ships  to  take  the  railway  trucks  at  all  tides, 
and  the  rise  and  fall  here  is  about  ten  feet  only.  The  barges 
are  of  steel,  with  wooden  coverings  which  take  on  and  off. 
At  present  only  2500  tons  are  despatched  a  day,  but  in 
the  summer  often  28,000  tons  a  week,  including  guns, 
munitions,  cars,  supplies,  engineering  and  ordnance  stores, 
and  so  on.  They  build  their  own  barges.  They  are  towed 
across  and  then  enter  the  French  canals  and  pass  up  to 
the  Armies.  Some  have  been  under  fire  on  the  French 
front.  A  truly  astonishing  place  and  a  great  triumph  for 
Collard  and  his  assistants. 

Sir  Auckland  Geddes  makes  his  long  statement  about 
Man-Power.  We  are  only  to  get  439,000  men  from  youths 
in  essential  trades,  such  as  munitions — but  these  are  for 
Army,  Navy,  and  Aircraft ;  and  the  Army — though  Geddes 
concealed  this  fact — only  gets  100,000  A  men,  as  I  expected. 
Moreover,  as  men  twice  severely  wounded  are  to  be  kept 
at  home,  the  net  increase  probably  will  vanish.  Geddes 
stated  that  1,600,000  enemies  may  reinforce  the  Western 
front !     A   nice   reply  !     Is   all   the    British    world   mad  ? 


1918]  MAN-POWER  IN  1918  187 

The  Times  writes  a  pathetically  silly  leader  about  it.  There 
are  points  in  Geddes's  speech  which  are  incorrect,  and  some 
which  are  unfortunate. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  16.  1  called  in  to  see  a  well-informed 
friend,  to  find  out  how  numbers  stood,  and  he  confirms  my 
belief  that  the  proposals  of  the  Government  will  only  add 
100,000  A  men  to  the  Army,  besides  100,000  B  men.  If 
the  divisions  are  cut  down  to  9  battalions,  the  need  of  the 
year  will  only  be  455,000  new  men  instead  of  the  former 
615,000,  but  the  question  of  the  cutting  down  is  to  be 
settled  to-day.  He  was  critical  of  Sir  Auckland  Geddes's 
speech  last  Monday,  introducing  the  Government  Man- 
Power  Bill,  and  is  not  pleased  with  it.  He  says  that  the 
number  of  wounded  who  used  to  return  to  the  Front  is 
falling  owing  to  physical  fatigue.  It  was  60  per  cent., 
and  is  now  nearer  40  per  cent.  He  thinks  that  the  pre- 
sent deficit  of  130,000  men,  including  now  86,000  infantry 
short  in  France,  will  be  as  great  next  April  under  the  new 
arrangements. 

The  Times  had  a  leader  this  morning  making  out  that 
all  the  420,000  to  450,000  men  to  be  combed  out  of  in- 
dustries will  go  to  our  Armies,  although  Geddes  himself 
said  that  they  were  to  expand  the  Navy  and  the  Air  Force 
and  to  maintain  the  Army.  This  was  too  much  for  me. 
I  should  deserve  to  be  hanged  as  a  Boche  agent  if  I  remained 
with  these  imbeciles  any  longer.  In  the  late  afternoon  I 
went  to  the  Times  and  had  a  stormy  interview  with  Dawson, 
the  editor.  He  kept  me  waiting  a  long  time  before  he 
saw  me,  and  this  made  me  in  no  better  humour  than  before. 
I  told  him  that  I  could  not  go  on  with  him  ;  that  his  leader 
this  morning  was  mendacious  ;  that  his  subservience  to 
the  War  Cabinet  during  this  year  was,  in  my  opinion, 
largely  the  cause  of  the  dangerous  position  of  our  Army  ; 
that  he  had  paid  DO  attention  to  my  constant  exposure 
of  the  War  Cabinet's  failure  to  provide  men,  and  that  I 
considered  he  had  been  misleading  the  country.  I  further 
said  that  his  constant  deletion  of  whole  paragraphs  of 
my   articles   was    unknown    in    the   days    of    Buckle,    and 

VOL.   II.  O 


188         THE  ARMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

that  this  practice,  of  which  I  had  continually  com- 
plained in  vain,  was  dishonest  to  the  public,  since  it  pre- 
vented the  country  from  knowing  the  truth,  and  unfair 
to  me.  I  said  that  I  considered  his  reply  to  my  letter  to 
be  unsatisfactory,  and  that  I  would  have  nothing  more 
to  do  with  the  Times.  The  discussion  became  heated, 
and  I  told  him  that  neither  the  interests  of  the  country 
nor  those  of  the  Army  were  safe  in  his  hands,  and  that  I 
proposed  to  write  a  letter  to  the  manager  resigning  my 
position. 

In  the  evening  I  wrote  a  line  to  Northcliffe  to  tell  him 
my  decision  and  to  thank  him  for  his  courtesy  to  me,  and 
another  to  the  manager,  Mr.  Howard  Corbett,  setting  out 
in  a  courteous  form  my  reasons  for  resigning. 

A  good  day's  work.  I  have  been  much  too  patient  and 
easy-going  with  the  paper,  and  only  regret  I  have  delayed 
this  step  so  long. 

Friday,  Jan.  18.  A  civil  letter  from  Corbett  accepting 
my  resignation  and  expressing  his  regret.  Lunched  with 
Lady  Kitty  Somerset  at  25  York  Terrace.  Lady  Essex, 
Lady  Gwendeline  Churchill,  General  Tom  Bridges,  Lord 
D'Abernon,  and  H.  G.  Wells  also  there.  A  pleasant  house, 
overlooking  the  park.  Wells  was  in  great  form  and  looking 
very  fit.  We  led  him  on  to  talk,  and  he  always  talks  well. 
He  was  very  fascinating,  and  we  discussed  governments, 
people,  men,  and  women,  till  nearly  4,  when  I  walked 
back  with  Lady  Gourde,  and  had  a  look  at  her  new  house, 
44  Bedford  Square,  of  which  Walkley,  the  Times  theatrical 
critic,  has  the  top  floor.  Then  saw  Fagalde,  and  we  agreed 
to  meet  and  talk  to-morrow. 

Went  on  later  to  see  Admiral  '  Lord  Jellicoe  of  Scapa,' 
as  he  proposes  to  call  himself.  We  first  discussed  the  new 
standard  of  invasion,  and  I  found  that  the  Admiral  entirely 
agreed  with  me,  and  he  told  me  that  the  whole  Board  had 
done  so  except  Wemyss,  and  J.  does  not  know  how  the 
decision  was  arrived  at  after  he  left.  He  says  that  the 
standard  was  165,000  potential  invaders  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war,  and  then  came  down  to  70,000.     He  had  never 


1918]        JELLICOE  ON  HOME  DEFENCE  189 

accepted  any  less  figure.  He  considered  the  limitation 
of  the  convoy  to  30  ships  preposterous,  and  says  that  if 
30  can  come  70  can  also  come.  He  says  that  the  figure  30 
was  taken  because  we  find  it  convenient  to  adopt  it  for 
our  Atlantic  convoys,  which  have  skippers  unused  to  sailing 
in  company,  but  that  if  the  Bodies  contemplate  this  stroke, 
they  will  practise  their  transports  in  the  Bay  of  Kiel  or  in 
Heligoland  Bight,  place  naval  officers  on  board  the  ships, 
and  see  to  it  that  all  will  be  in  perfect  order.  He  considers 
it  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  Bodies  will  not  use  their 
big  ships,  and  that  the  new  basis  is  altogether  fantastic. 
He  thinks  it  quite  easy  for  the  enemy,  by  sending  a  portion 
of  the  High  Sea  Fleet  to  sea,  to  attract  ours  towards  Jutland 
or  further  north,  and  then  to  return  to  its  bases,  whither 
our  Grand  Fleet  will  follow  him.  But  after  48  hours  our 
ships  must  return  to  their  bases  to  coal,  and  then  it  will 
take  36  hours  for  them  to  do  so  and  to  coal  and  oil,  and 
12  hours  more  to  reach  the  point  chosen  for  the  landing, 
and  in  that  interval  the  stroke  can  be  delivered. 

Beatty,  he  says,  has  approved  of  the  plan  of  weakening 
Home  Defence,  but  has  not  given  any  number,  nor  has 
admitted  the  30,000  basis.  J.  says  that  there  are  three 
King  Edwards  at  Sheerness,  and  he  hopes  that  a  couple 
or  more  Dreadnoughts  will  be  there  soon  as  well,  as  he 
wants  to  keep  a  force  at  Sheerness  in  order  to  make  the 
enemy  bring  large  ships  which  will  give  our  submarines 
a  chance.  He  admits  a  total  want  of  touch  between 
Army  and  Navy.  In  three  months  he  hopes  we  may 
have  enough  submarines  to  watch  constantly  all  the 
possible  exits  for  the  German  convoy  of  invasion,  but 
the  notice  given  may  not  exceed  12  hours.  He  says 
that  Admiral  Hall  professed  to  have  news  of  the  German 
Armada  which  took  the  Riga  Bay  Islands,  but  that  he 
had  never  produced  it.  He  says  that  in  June  last 
tli<  I i • . <  1 1 «  were  will  mined  in,  but  since  then  they  had 
pi  three  exits  through  our  minefields.  Our  destroyers 
were  very  worn,  both  men  and  ships,  by  the  hard  work. 
The   Devonport  flotillas  often  spent    11   days  and  nights 


190         THE  ARMY  STARVED  FOR  MEN 

at  sea,  and  only  two  days  off,  and  generally  about  45 
per  cent,  of  the  time  of  destroyers  was  passed  at  sea.  Many 
officers  had  broken  down  under  the  strain. 

J.  says  that  the  Boches  are  building  8  submarines  a 
month.  We  destroyed,  for  certain,  27  submarines  in  the 
December  quarter,  17  in  the  previous  quarter,  and  11  in  the 
quarter  before  that.  Previously  we  have  never  destroyed 
more  than  9  in  a  quarter,  but  the  27  in  December  were  more 
likely  to  run  up  to  35  when  all  the  truth  was  known.  He 
says  it  is  absurd  to  count  on  help  from  our  troops  in  France 
in  case  of  the  invasion  stroke,  as  the  Channel  would  be  full 
of  submarines  to  prevent  any  such  transfer.  He  thinks 
that  German  destroyers  and  submarines  on  the  Flanders 
coast  will  play  the  devil  in  the  Channel,  and  now  that  4 
flotillas  can  be  spared  from  the  Baltic,  the  Boches  will 
probably  use  them  at  Zeebrugge.  J.  has  strongly  sup- 
ported the  Flanders  campaign  and  the  naval  attack  pro- 
posed, telling  L.  G.  that  if  he  did  not  get  the  Boches  out 
of  this  coast  in  war  he  would  never  get  him  out  afterwards. 
This  had  displeased  L.  G.,  who  was  also  incensed  because 
J.  had  declared  that  he  might  not  be  able  to  support  the 
Salonika  Force.  L.  G.  had  tried  to  get  the  Grand  Fleet 
to  attempt  side-shows,  as  he  had  done  with  the  Army, 
and  J.  mentioned  Heligoland  as  a  case  in  point.  J.  was 
uneasy  about  the  new  ocean-going  U-boats  which  carry 
two  6-inch  guns  and  can  remain  out  for  three  months. 
One  had  appeared  at  Sierra  Leone,  and  J.  feared  that  if 
they  hunted  in  American  waters  the  Americans  might 
recall  their  destroyers.  But  he  said  that  Admiral  Sims  was 
quite  sound  on  this  question.  J.  says  that  Scapa  was  not 
a  safe  base  till  Jan.  1915,  and  that  during  the  first  months 
of  the  war  he  had  a  bad  time,  being  even  forced  at  one 
time  to  go  as  far  off  as  Lough  Swilly. 

Curzon  had  told  J.  that  a  story  current  about  J.  and 
the  War  Cabinet  was  a  myth,  and  from  nearly  all  the  chief 
officers  of  the  Grand  Fleet,  including  the  captains,  J.  had 
received  the  most  flattering  letters.  He  also  showed  me 
a  most  pathetic  letter  in  pencil,  evidently  from  the  Lower 


1918]       I  AM  APPEALED  TO  FOR  HELP         191 

Deck,  from  a  Submarine  Flotilla,  deploring  J.'s  departure, 
and  asking  him  to  light  it  out  and  return  to  the  Fleet, 
adding  that  only  their  sense  of  duty  to  their  dear  country 
and  holy  island  prevented  a  mutiny.  The  whole  story 
of  J.'s  dismissal  is  most  squalid  and  crooked.  J.  has 
been  given  no  reason  for  his  dismissal  even  now.  He 
was  asked  to  resign,  and  refused.  Two  members  of  the 
Board  were  asked  to  induce  him  to  resign,  and  they  refused. 
He  said  that  the  question  of  Geddes  going  to  Italy  to  take 
over  the  railways  was  much  discussed  again  and  again,  and 
J.  thought  that  Geddes  desired  to  get  away  to  avoid  the 
unpleasant  duty  of  dismissing  him.  He  had  had  a  row 
previously  with  L.  G.  about  Oliver,  and  had  said  that  he 
would  resign  if  Oliver  went.  L.  G.  flew  into  a  passion  and 
said  that  he  had  no  right  to  do  so.  But  J.  reminded  L.  G. 
that  members  of  the  Board  were  Ministers,  did  not  wear 
uniform  in  peace  time,  and  were  not  subject  to  naval  dis- 
cipline. 

I  saw  a  distinguished  soldier  this  afternoon.  The  Boches 
have  now  165  divisions  in  the  West — two  more  than  the  total 
of  the  Allies — and  they  are  coming  in  at  the  average  rate  of 
nine  a  month.  A  nice  moment  to  reduce  our  infantry  in  France 
by  a  quarter  and  to  go  prancing  off  to  the  Holy  Land  to  win 
the  war  there  !  This  soldier  thought  that  it  was  quite  time 
for  me  to  repeat  my  indiscretion  about  the  shells.  Every- 
thing else  had  been  tried  without  avail.  The  War  Office 
had  failed  to  move  the  Government  fool  from  its  folly,  and 
the  only  chance  of  averting  defeat  was  for  me  and  some 
honest  editor  to  speak  out. 


CHAPTER  XXX 
THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

Clemenceau  to  be  warned  of  the  situation  of  our  effectives — General 
Petain's  arrangements  for  defence — The  French  expect  220  German 
divisions  to  attack — A  talk  with  the  French  Ambassador — I  join  the 
Morning  Post — A  look  round  at  Aldershot — My  article  of  Jan.  24, 
exposing  the  failure  of  the  War  Cabinet  to  maintain  the  Army — 
Mr.  Gwynne's  courage — A  dinner  at  the  Inner  Temple — An  offer  to 
me  from  America — Clemenceau  asks  me  to  go  to  Paris — Journey  to 
Paris — An  Allied  luncheon — Reports  of  the  proceedings  of  the  War 
Council — Disunity  of  Command — Secret  diplomacy  in  Switzerland — 
A  German  air  raid  on  Paris — Talk  with  M.  Painleve — Conversation 
with  M.  Clemenceau— The  story  of  the  War  Council — A  luncheon 
with  M.  Briand — We  discuss  the  events  of  the  war — A  conversation 
with  General  Petain — His  views  of  the  War  Council  and  the  situa- 
tion— Colonel  de  Cointet's  opinions — General  Leman — M.  Roman 
Dmowski — The  '  Rubicon  '  papers — A  race  of  monkeys — General 
Peyton  March. 

Saturday,  Jan.  19.  Lunched  with  the  distinguished  French- 
man, who  is  still  here,  at  the  Naval  and  Military  Club.  We 
had  a  serious  talk  about  our  Man-Power  proposals,  and 
agreed  that  they  were  hopelessly  inadequate,  since  our  losses 
in  France  last  year  had  been  780,000,  or  900,000  including 
other  theatres,  and  as  the  enemy  was  bringing  up  much 
larger  forces,  we  should  expect  a  total  casualty  list  of  1,200,000 
in  1918,  and  the  French  the  same.  I  said  that  I  did  not  know 
yet  for  certain  whether  the  enemy  contemplated  a  grand 
attack  upon  us  in  the  West,  but  that  all  the  German  papers 
which  I  saw  pointed  to  the  fact  that  they  meant  to  attack. 

The  Frenchman  said  that  the of ,  whose  information 

had  been  very  good  during  the  war  and  was  doubtless 
derived  from  Austrian  sources,  believed  that  the  question 
of  the  attack  in  the  West  had  been  long  and  anxiously  de- 

192 


1918]  OUR  ARMIES  IN  DANGER  193 

bated  in  Germany,  and  that  ultimately  it  had  been  answered 
in  the  affirmative.  The  plan  was  to  drive  in  two  great 
attacks,  one  against  Calais,  and  a  second  from  Alsace. 
When  these  two  great  attacks  had  attracted  and  absorbed 
the  Allied  Reserves,  then  the  main  attack  was  to  be  launched 
in  the  centre  against  Rheims.  This  seemed  to  us  a  not  im- 
probable plan. 

I  asked  whether  the  extension  of  our  front  to  Barisy  had 
settled  the  knotty  point  between  Haig  and  Petain.     My 
friend  thought  it  had,  but  in  principle  the  French  still  held 
out  for  us  to  extend  to  Berry-au-Bac,  and  the  Versailles  men 
were  going  to  recommend  it.    General  Wilson,  said  my  friend, 
had  returned  to  Paris  from  London  full  of  L.  G.'s  ideas 
of  the  impossibility  of  England  doing  anything  more.     We 
agreed  that,  so  far  as  we  could  understand  Auckland  Geddes's 
plans  announced  in  his  speech  last  Mondaj^,  we  should  only 
get  a  small  fraction  of  the  men  needed  to  maintain  the 
Army,  and  it  was  not  even  sure  that  we  should  make  good 
the  present  deficit  of  some  150,000  men.     We  could  only 
see,  throughout  the  whole  of  1918,  the  240,000  youths  of  19, 
the  recovered  wounded,  and  the  men  now  at  the  depots, 
and  this  would  leave  us  with  as  great  a  deficit  by  April  as 
before,  even  after  the  four  Home  Defence  divisions  had 
been  broken  up.     The  orders  to  reduce  the  British  infantry 
divisions  in  France  and  Italy  from  12  to  9  battalions  had 
gone  out,  and  I  asked  the  Frenchman  to  note  that  at  the 
crisis  of  the  war,  and  with  the  act  of  decision  near,  we  had 
reduced  our  infantry  by  one  quarter  and  had  made  no 
arrangements  to  keep  them  up,  while  the  Versailles  soldiers 
were  truckling  to  L.  G.'s  insane  plan  of  winning  the  war  by 
fighting  Turks. 

We  discussed  what  should  be  done.  The  Allied  War 
Council  \v;ts  to  meet  again  next  week  in  Paris.  Clemenceau 
bad  said  that  he  was  too  old  to  come  to  London,  but  L.  G. 
had  held  out  for  the  meeting  here  because  an  agreement  in 
this  Bense  had  been  reached.  Clemenceau  had  therefore 
given  way,  whereupon  L.  G.,  having  satisfied  his  amour 
rproyre,  had  agreed  to  go  to  Paris.      We   thought  that  the 


i94    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

important  thing  was  for  Clemenceau  to  be  fully  informed  of 
the  facts,  and  I  suggested  that  I  should  see  M.  Cambon  and 
get  him  to  arrange  for  Clemenceau  to  learn  the  truth.  It 
was  evident  from  an  article  by  Colonel  Rousset  in  the  Petit 
Parisien  that  the  French  were  completely  deluded  about 
our  preparations,  and  we  thought  it  indispensable  that 
Clemenceau  should  be  exactly  informed  before  the  Confer- 
ence. So  it  was  agreed  between  us,  and  I  agreed  to  go  to 
Paris  if  M.  Clemenceau  wanted  to  see  me. 

I  was  also  told  that  Petain  had  settled  upon  certain  regions 
of  first-class  importance  to  France  where  he  could  not  retreat. 
These  included  the  Nancy  sector,  Rheims,  the  Lens  coal 
district,  and  the  British  front  down  to  Arras  from  the  sea. 
Therefore  these  sectors  were  to  be  the  first  to  be  fortified 
with  all  possible  care  and  the  reserves  grouped  suitably  to 
support  them.  The  other  sectors  where  we  could  afford  to 
go  back  were  to  take  second  place  in  order  of  priority  for 
defences,  but  in  their  cases  the  fine  which  must  ultimately 
be  held  to  the  death  must  be  settled  too.  It  was  on  these 
lines  that  work  was  going  on.  Petain  had  not  only  reserves 
of  infantry  divisions,  but  great  reserves  of  heavy  and  field 
guns,  and  even  his  field  guns  had  now  mechanical  traction 
so  that  no  time  might  be  lost  in  entraining  them.  It  is  true 
that  Haig  has  22  divisions  in  reserve,  but  of  these,  3  each 
are  allotted  to  the  5  Armies,  so  that  Haig  had  only 
7  divisions  as  general  reserve,  and  this  is  not  enough  to 
meet  a  serious  attack.  The  French  expect  a  grand  total  of 
220  Boche  divisions,  and  news  of  the  arrival  of  Austrians  at 
Antwerp  has  come  in,  possibly  gunners  with  the  Austrian 
305-mm.  heavies. 

Saw  Olive  and  Lady  Bagot,  and  returned  to  Maryon  to 
show  Sir  George  Arthur  my  papers,  etc.,  relating  to  Lord  K., 
whose  life  Arthur  is  writing.  He  took  away  all  my  letters 
from  Birdwood  and  Marker  relating  to  K.'s  time  in  India, 
and  is  to  send  for  Lord  K.'s  letter  to  Stedman,  which  he  has 
not  seen  before,  while  he  will  come  again  about  the  Sudan 
story  when  he  gets  to  it.  The  history  is  to  appear  a  year 
after  the  end  of  the  war.     Arthur  told  me  many  interesting 


1918]     I  ARRANGE  TO  SEE  CLEMENCEAU       195 

things  about  K.  and  the  war,  and  took  no  exception  to  the 
first  pages  of  this  diary,  which  I  showed  to  him. 

Sunday,  Jan.  20.  Finished  my  article  on  the  need  of  the 
Army  for  men,  explaining  the  whole  situation  clearly  to 
the  public  and  laying  the  blame  for  our  critical  situation 
on  the  procrastination  and  cowardice  of  the  War  Cabinet. 
It  will  create  a  sensation  when  it  appears.  Played  a  little 
Bridge  at  Lady  Paget's  with  Lady  Mar,  Lady  Florence 
Willoughby,  Mrs.  Maguire,  Lord  Charles  Montagu,  and  a 
few  more.  I  told  them  of  my  resignation  and  they  all 
applauded  it.  Dined  with  the  McKennas.  Mrs.  George 
Keppel,  Lady  Granard,  Sir  Lionel  Earle,  and  several 
others,  who  all  seemed  delighted  with  my  decision,  and 
said  the  nicest  things.  I  then  went  on  at  10.30  p.m.  to 
see  M.  Cambon,  the  French  Ambassador.  De  la  Panouse 
was  with  us  during  our  talk.  I  explained  the  position  of 
affairs  and  requested  M.  Cambon  to  explain  the  real 
position  to  M.  Clemenceau.  Cambon  undertook  to  write 
a  letter  to  M.  Clemenceau,  and  guaranteed  that  it  would 
be  delivered  to  the  French  Premier  personally, — perhaps 
by  Cambon's  brother — and  I  offered  to  go  to  Paris  if 
Clemenceau  wished  to  see  me.  Cambon  inclines  to  the 
view  that  the  Germans  will  not  attack  in  the  West,  but 
agrees  with  me  that  we  must  be  prepared  for  it. 

Monday,  Jan.  21.  Notice  of  my  resignation  appeared 
in  the  Morning  Post  and  Daily  Mirror  to-day.  My  telephone 
was  ringing  all  the  morning  with  congratulations,  requests 
for  interviews,  and  offers  of  employment  from  many  London 
and  provincial  papers.  But  I  had  sent  off  this  morning 
my  acceptance  of  the  Morning  Post  offer,  so  I  refused  all 
other  offers. 

I  went  off  to  Aldershot  in  the  afternoon  to  stay  with 
Sir  Archibald  and  Lady  Murray  at  Government  House. 
Gardner  of  the  Daily  News  sent  down  Mr.  Harris  to  see 
me,  and  I  arranged  to  Bee  Gardner  to-morrow.  A  good 
talk  with  Murray,  who  tells  me  again  that  all  the  first 
part  (if  his  despatch  was  OUt  OUt  because  it  would  have 
Bhown  up  the   vacillation    and    constantly  changing  orders 


196    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

of  the  Government.  Murray  looking  careworn  from  worry- 
over  the  wicked  attacks  on  him.  We  discussed  the  new 
invasion  basis,  and  M.  agreed  with  me  about  it.  He  was 
entirely  against  the  cordon  system  of  coast  defence,  and 
I  was  heartily  glad  to  hear  it. 

Tuesday,  Jan.  22.  I  went  to  see  the  young  troops,  who 
looked  well.  Murray  has  115,000  men  in  his  command,  but 
only  one  cavalry  and  two  infantry  brigades  fit  to  march  in  the 
event  of  invasion.  There  are  15,000  Flying  Corps,  40,000 
Canadians,  and  masses  of  schools,  details,  and  administra- 
tive services.  We  saw  the  gymnasium,  which  is  excellent, 
and  the  bombing,  gas,  and  bayonet  fighting.  About  two- 
thirds  of  the  training  is  physical.  General  Wright  in  com- 
mand at  the  gymnasium.  They  think  that  they  can 
make  an  infantry  soldier  in  six  months  if  he  has  many 
refresher  courses.  Ronny  Brooke  and  his  pretty  wife 
came  to  lunch.  Returned  to  London  in  the  afternoon, 
and  I  went  to  the  Reform  Club  and  saw  Gardner,  Buck- 
master,  and  Arnold  Bennett.  Gardner  told  me  many 
things  about  L.  G.  and  his  set.  Gardner  thinks  that  this 
Parliament  is  the  most  corrupt  since  the  days  of  George  in., 
and  gave  me  many  instances  of  honours  shamelessly  be- 
stowed. He  says  that  this  is  a  war  of  a  military 
system  against  the  civil  governments  of  the  world,  and  that 
L.  G.  does  not  place  the  case  fairly  before  the  public. 
Found  a  heap  of  letters  and  messages  at  home  on  my 
return. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  23.  General  de  la  Panouse  and  I 
lunched  at  the  Cafe  Royal  and  had  a  good  talk.  We 
went  into  the  question  of  men,  and  I  gave  him  my  figures, 
with  which  he  agreed.  M.  Cambon  is  to  send  off  his  letter, 
with  a  Minute  by  Panouse,  to  M.  Clemenceau  to-morrow 
morning,  and  '  The  Tiger '  should  ask  some  awkward  ques- 
tions of  L.  G.  at  the  Allied  War  Council,  which  meets  a  week 
hence  at  Versailles.  Meanwhile,  Robertson,  Haig,  Petain, 
Foch,  and  Pershing  are  confabulating  at  Compiegne,  and 
should  produce  a  joint  and  agreed-upon  plan  which  will, 
I  hope,  give  the  law  for  1918  and  render  the  futilities  of 


1918]     GWYNNE  EXPOSES  THE  CABINET       197 

the  Versailles  soldiers  abortive.  This  morning  the  Times 
published  a  paragraph  giving  a  totally  false  complexion  to 
my  reasons  for  leaving  them.  I  at  once  wrote  to  say  that 
it  was  inaccurate  and  misleading,  and  called  upon  them  to 
publish  my  letter  of  resignation  of  Jan.  16.  Dined  with 
Olive  and  Lockett,  and  we  discussed  my  affairs. 

Thursday,  Jan.  24.  I  continue  to  receive  many  offers 
of  work,  but  have  now  fixed  up  with  the  Morning  Post, 
who  have  to-day  sent  me  the  terms  of  an  agreement  with 
them.  Lunched  with  Lady  Mar  at  19  Hill  Street;  Mar, 
the  Romillys,  and  a  few  more. 

My  article,  exposing  the  failure  of  the  War  Cabinet  to 
maintain  the  Army,  came  out  in  the  Morning  Post  to-day 
without  going  to  the  Press  Bureau  and  caused  much  excite- 
ment. It  is  a  thorough  exposure  of  the  procrastination 
and  cowardice  of  the  Cabinet,  and  I  have  not  minced 
matters.     It  is  unanswerable,  and  its  sting  is  in  its  truth. 

It  is  fine  of  Gwynne  to  have  published  it  without  sending 
it  to  the  Censor,  and  I  hope  that  his  courage  and  public 
spirit  will  be  gratefully  remembered.  We  wondered  whether 
one  or  both  of  us  would  be  put  in  prison.  I  heard  that  at 
the  War  Cabinet  this  morning  L.  G.  was  all  for  it,  but  that 
the  others  prevented  it.  I  expect  they  know  that  I  can 
prove  my  case  up  to  the  hilt. 

In  the  afternoon,  as  I  was  writing,  a  telephone  message 
came  from  Mr.  Justice  Darling  to  ask  me  to  dine  with  him 
at  the  Inner  Temple  with  the  Benchers.  I  thought  it  a 
Bound  thing  to  do  to  make  friends  with  the  heads  of  the 
law,  so  accepted,  and  passed  a  very  agreeable  evening. 
Darling  has  a  keen,  penetrating  glance,  and  an  intellectual 
t;i<c;  he  has  plenty  of  character  and  decision,  and  is  very 
human  and  broad  ;  I  liked  him  very  much.  Some  wonder- 
ful Madeira.  1  was  struck  by  the  fine  heads  and  type  of 
intellect  of  the  judges  and  K.C.s  present.  They  were  very 
nice  to  me  and  scorned  to  sympathise,  as  the  rest  of  the 
world  does,  with  the  course  that  I  have  taken.  The 
presiding  treasurer,  1  think  it  was,  told  me  across  the 
table    that   if  I  got    into   trouble,    Darling,   as    the    First 


i98   THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

Puisne  Judge  (whatever  that  may  be),  would  try  me. 
Darling  himself  advised  that  if  they  shut  me  up  I  should 
apply  for  a  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,  and  that  if  one  judge 
refused  it  I  could  go  on  asking  others.  A  very  pleasant 
dinner.  Admiral  Hall,  the  D.N. I.,  and  Whigham  also  there 
as  guests.  I  was  much  cross-examined,  but  held  my  own 
I  hope.  One  of  the  Benchers  told  me  that  the  war  had 
shown  up  the  tremendous  extent  of  bigamy,  because  all 
the  legitimate  wives  applied  for  the  separation  allowance, 
and  then  the  thing  came  out.  Walked  up  to  Piccadilly 
with  Whigham,  who  warned  me  that  an  attack  would  be 
made  on  the  W.O.  for  giving  me  information.  Evidently 
the  affair  is  going  to  be  used  as  a  vehicle  for  an  L.  G.  attack 
on  Derby  and  Robertson,  but  I  have  a  pretty  complete 
answer  to  that. 

Friday,  Jan.  25.  The  Times  not  having  published  my 
letter  of  resignation  yesterday,  I  published  it  myself  in  the 
Morning  Post  to-day,  and  every  one  who  cares  for  truth  and 
straightforward  dealing  will  see  the  mendacious  character 
of  the  Times'  explanation.  I  continue  to  receive  many 
letters  and  telephone  messages  of  sympathy  and  approval 
from  known  and  unknown  friends.  Lunched  with  Gwynne, 
Colvin  his  chief  leader  writer,  and  Cornford  his  naval  critic. 
I  had  met  Cornford  before.  A  good  talk.  I  liked  Colvin 
very  much.  Dined  with  Lady  Paget  and  found  the 
McKennas,  Lady  Drogheda,  Lady  Mar,  Admiral  Paget, 
and  Seymour  Fortescue.  Lady  D.  very  full  of  her  approach- 
ing visit  to  America  with  her  aircraft.  It  is  rather  splendid 
of  her  to  go.  She  was  looking  very  well  and  should  be  a 
great  success  in  America. 

Saturday,  Jan.  26.  Mr.  Learoyd,  the  London  corre- 
spondent of  the  Philadelphia  Ledger,  came  up  and  showed 
me  a  cable  asking  whether  I  would  go  to  America  and  at 
what  salary.  I  said  that  to  go  to  America  would  make 
me  lose  touch  of  the  war,  that  London  was  the  nerve  centre, 
and  that  one  would  soon  drop  out  of  things  in  the  States. 
Coming  to  terms  L.  offered  me  as  his  own  idea,  but  possibly 
as  a  figure  suggested  to  him,  £4000  a  year,  but  I  told 


1918]  AN  OFFER  FROM  AMERICA  199 

him  that  this  was  not  attractive.  We  then  discussed 
the  matter  at  some  length,  and  I  gave  him  my  views,  and 
that  I  was  committed  to  the  Morning  Post  and  had  to  con- 
sider them  in  any  arrangement .  Also,  I  said  that  J  did  not 
propose  to  leave  my  house  in  London,  and  that  even  if  the 
Ledger  tempted  me,  and  made  terms  which  would  not 
prejudice  the  Morning  Post,  the  figure  would  have  to  be 
high.  I  did  not  pretend  that  my  writing  was  worth  the 
high  figure,  but  that  it  was  not  worth  my  while  to  make  a 
change  except  for  a  very  large  sum  and  an  arrangement 
over  a  term  of  years.  He  is  going  to  report  accordingly. 
I  have  no  intention  of  leaving  London  and  deserting  the 
Army's  cause,  but  want  to  see  what  the  Ledger  means. 
Lunched  with  Mrs.  Lionel  Guest  in  Seymour  Street.  Some 
machine  gun  officers.  Saw  Lionel's  new  self-adjusting 
sights  for  anti-aircraft  guns.  A  fascinating  invention  and 
should  be  pressed  on  by  practical  tests,  as  I  think  that  it 
has  the  merit  of  most  ingenious  theory. 

Sunday,  Jan.  27.  Learoyd  telephones  that  a  fresh  pro- 
position will  come  Monday.  Mr.  Tuohy  of  the  New  York 
World  came  up  to  ask  me  to  write  a  special  article  for  their 
Sunday  edition,  but  I  did  not  see  my  way  to  oblige.  He 
i- aid  that  the  World  had  just  made  a  contract  with  the 
Mm  a  ing  Post  for  their  service.  Lady  Hamilton  and  George 
Street  Lunched  at  Maryon,  and  we  had  a  pleasant  talk 
about  books,  plays,  and  Russian  affairs. 

Monday,  J  mi.  28.  Lunched  with  Olive,  Mrs.  Norton, 
and  Gwynne.  After  lunch  I  told  Gwynnc  my  position  in 
regard  to  the  American  offers.  Called  to  see  Reggie  and 
Bee  Pembroke.  He  is  looking  very  ill  and  will  take  no  care 
of  himself,  and  I  am  disturbed  about  him. 

Tuesday,  don.  i!'.>.  My  second  Morning  Post  article 
appeared  with  a  slashing  attack  on  the  people  who  arc 
opening  attacks  on  tho  War  Oilice.  Saw  Admiral  Sir  Hed- 
u nitli  Bfeuz  at  the  Turf  Club,  and  we  compared  notes 
abort  the  vile  attacks  upon  naval  and  military  chiefs. 
.Mfux  is  going  to  speak  out  at  Portsmouth  about  it  on 
Friday,  and  1  must  get  a  full  report  made  to  help  him. 


200    THE  WAE  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

Wednesday,  Jan.  30.  I  received  yesterday  a  telephone 
message  from  Clemenceau,  asking  me  to  come  to  Paris  at 
once  and  to  see  him  on  my  arrival,  so  I  spent  to-day  in 
getting  permits  and  passport  vises.  Had  a  talk  with  a 
friend  at  the  F.O.,  and  found  him  in  accord  with  my  view 
of  matters.  He  thinks  that  the  Bolshevists  are  now  turn- 
ing against  Germany,  and  is  glad  about  it.  We  seem  to 
be  working  up  Trans-Caucasia  and  the  Don,  while  the 
French  are  working  up  the  Ukraine.  A  bit  late.  The 
F.O.  have  left  the  Embassy  at  Petrograd  free  leave  to 
come  away  if  things  get  too  hot.  I  said  that  I  thought 
this  threw  the  responsibility  too  much  on  the  Embassy, 
and  that  they  should  have  definite  orders  one  way  or 
another,  but  my  friend  said  that  there  was  already  a  wish 
at  the  Embassy  to  come  away.  He  did  not  altogether 
believe  in  the  coming  grand  attack.  He  was  rather  of  Cam- 
bon's  views  about  it.  But  he  said  that  the  German  General 
Staff  were  sure  of  victory,  while  the  Kiihlmann  party  were 
the  reverse.  Various  dates  had  been  assigned  for  the 
attack,  and  the  latest  was  March  1.  He  was  in  touch  with 
Austria,  and  thought  that  the  latter  would  not  make  a 
separate  peace,  but  would  exercise  pressure  on  Germany 
to  stop  the  war.  Some  Austrian  troops  were  coming  West, 
but  Czernin  had  told  friends  of  ours  that  this  was  in  order 
to  keep  a  promise  given,  and  that  we  were  not  to  take 
much  account  of  it.  My  friend  thought  that  the  Germans 
did  not  intend  to  help  the  Turks  much,  and  that  the  two 
Boche  divisions  in  Palestine  are  weak  and  bad.  The 
Bulgars,  he  thought,  did  not  mean  to  attack.  A  report 
had  come  from  Plumer  on  the  Italian  Army.  The  French 
are  expecting  to  get  back  their  divisions  from  Italy,  and 
we  may  also  get  back  ours.  My  friend  doubts  whether 
the  generalissime  question  will  crop  up  this  week,  but  says 
that  the  Turkish  campaign  is  still  on,  and  wonders  how 
it  will  go.  Lunched  with  Sir  Percy  Girouard  at  '  The  Rag,' 
and  we  had  a  talk  about  engineer  matters  at  the  front.  He 
thinks  that  armour  can  be  more  used  with  guns,  and  a 
better  means  be  found  of  crossing  'No-Man's  Land.' 


1918]  JOURNEY  TO  PARIS  201 

This  morning  the  Philadelphia  Ledger  offered  me  £5000  a 
year  to  go  to  them,  and  promised  me  a  great  reception  in 
America,  and  freedom  to  lecture  and  make  piles  of  money. 
I  passed  it  on  to  Gwynne,  but  I  propose  to  stay  here  and 
help  the  Army  and  stand  the  racket  of  the  bitter  enmity 
which  I  have  aroused,  and  to  work  for  the  Morning  Post, 
who  have  been  so  good  about  things. 

In  the  evening  a  pleasant  dinner  with  Mrs.  Astor  ;  Lady 
Randolph,  Lionel  Earle,  Lady  Paget,  Lord  Wemyss,  Mrs. 
Sibby  Long,  Lord  Lurgan,  Lady  Mar,  Villiers,  Mrs.  George 
Keppel,  Sidney  Greville,  and  a  Russian  baron.  I  came 
away  early  with  Lady  Randolph,  and  we  walked  to  the 
Tube.  She  compared  the  present  unfavourably  with  the 
past.  Formerly  people  who  were  fond  of  each  other 
appeared  immaculately  dressed  without  a  hair  out  of  place, 
and  on  terms  of  stiff  formality.  Now  people  slapped  each 
other  on  the  back  and  pretended  to  be  attached,  and  it 
meant  absolutely  nothing. 

Thursday,  Jan.  31.  Left  Charing  Cross  at  1.20  p.m.  A 
good  passage  in  convoy.  Talked  most  of  the  time  with 
General  Sir  E.  Locke-Elliot,  Bobby  Ward  the  King's 
Messenger,  Baker-Carr  of  the  Tanks,  and  a  G.H.Q.  man. 
Met  Lord  Cavan  on  board,  and  had  a  talk  with  him  about 
Italy.  His  position  on  the  Montello  is  strong  in  front, 
and  he  can  attack  right  and  left  with  his  reserves.  Plumer 
tells  General  Diaz  that  he  will  not  retire.  Ca  van's  and 
Plumer's  opinions  of  the  Italians  concur.  Dined  with 
(a van  and  General  Wilberforce  at  an  hotel.  Ward  gave 
me  a  berth  in  his  sleeping  carriage.  Left  Boulogne  9. 15  p.m., 
arrived  Paris  6.30  A.M.  We  heard  of  a  big  air  raid  on  Paris 
last  night. 

Friday,  Feb.  1.  Found  a  room  at  the  Ritz.  X.  came 
to  sec  me  while  I  was  dressing,  and  told  me  that  Robert- 
son was  ill  with  bronchitis,  but  had  insisted  on  attending 
the  Allied  War  Council  yesterday.  X.  did  aoi  think  that 
1  he  Council  had  yet  done  much  good  or  much  harm.  It 
\\as  like  all  its  predecessors,  ■•'  parlote.  The  g6n6ralis8%me 
question  had  been  brought  up,  and  had   heen  more  or  less 


202    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

ruled  out  on  account  of  the  political  and  parliamentary 
difficulties  inherent  in  it ;  but  the  question  had  then  come 
up  of  one  commander  for  the  Allied  Reserve,  which  is  a 
precious  silly  suggestion;  but  X.  did  not  know  whether 
any  conclusion  had  been  reached.  The  Aleppo  expedition 
had  been  brought  up  by  L.  G.,  and  the  same  kind  of  futile 
half-discussion  had  followed,  without  any  settlement.  I 
made  sarcastic  remarks  on  this  tomfoolery.  Saw  Le 
Roy-Lewis,  who  told  me  that  we  were  all  digging- 
in  hard  and  talking  now  of  second  lines.  He  had  been 
to  the  Vosges,  and  had  to  inform  Clemenceau  that  the 
defences  were  poor.  Cavan,  I  think  it  was,  told  me  yester- 
day that  Rawlinson  was  now  making  a  regular  fortified 
zone,  with  a  thinly-held  first  fine,  others  behind,  and  a 
reserve  for  counter-attacks.  Cavan  also  said  that  superior 
supervision  was  wanting,  and  that  the  G.H.Q.  men  did 
not  visit  the  front  enough.  He,  personally,  always  saw 
into  everything,  and  I  said  that  I  knew  it.  He  praised 
very  much  Babington  and  his  23rd  Division,  which  was 
in  beautiful  order.  So  is  the  41st,  under  Lawford,  and 
the  7th. 

I  saw  General  Kentish,  now  in  command  of  a  brigade 
of  the  5th  Army.  He  thought  that  the  complaints  at  home 
of  the  soullessness  of  the  Army  administration  had  some 
justification,  and  said  that  he  wanted  a  system  which 
would  look  more  closely  into  grievances  of  officers  at  home, 
and  would  examine  billets  at  night,  and  see  the  needless 
hardships  involved  in  using  barns  instead  of  estaminets, 
for  instance.  He  is  to  prepare  a  short  statement  for  me 
on  this  subject.  He  is  furious  about  Lovat  Fraser's  and 
other  attacks  on  the  Old  Army,  and  declares  that  out  of 
1500  New  Army  senior  officers  whom  he  had  under  him  at 
Aldershot,  not  twelve  were  fit  to  be  brigadiers. 

I  asked  Gordon  Knox,  the  Post  man  in  Paris,  to  lunch, 
but  he  was  attending  the  weekly  dejemier  intime  des  allies, 
and  suggested  that  I  should  go  there.  Spiers  and  our  naval 
liaison  officer,  Heaton-Ellis,  were  there,  also  M.  Millet,  and 
about  20  or  30  more,  mostly  French,  British,  and  American 


1918]         THE  SUPREME  WAR  COUNCIL  203 

Press  people.  I  sat  between  M.  Sabatier  and  the  D.T. 
correspondent.  They  pressed  me  to  speak,  but  I  refused. 
After  lunch  a  Japanese  journalist  was  asked  to  speak  first, 
and  he  told  us  that  if  we  did  not  win  the  war,  the  elements 
in  Japan  that  thought  the  German  system  of  government 
better  than  democratic  ideals  would  win  the  day.  A  long 
speech  followed  from  a  French  Socialist,  mainly  blather; 
and  then  an  Englishman  who  had  been  at  the  British  Labour 
Conference  at  Nottingham  gave  us  his  impressions,  making 
out  that  Labour  had  gone  over  to  the  extreme  Left,  that 
they  did  not  trust  Lloyd  George,  and  that  while  they  were 
for  the  freeing  of  Belgium  and  France  they  were  opposed 
to  the  Man-Power  Bill,  and  were  determined  to  resist  it. 
They  want  their  Stockholm,  and  will  not  fight  unless  allowed 
to  try  and  make  terms  with  foreign  Socialists.  I  asked  him 
a  question  about  Alsace-Lorraine,  and  he  said  that  they 
were  for  a  plebiscite.  I  went  off  to  X.'s  house.  We  assume 
Aleppo  to  be  off.  Clemenceau  is  opposed  to  it.  The  ques- 
tion of  the  command  is  a  real  difficulty,  and  it  is  not 
yet  settled.  Clemenceau  and  X.  want  Petain  and  Haig  to 
agree  together,  and  Foch  and  Robertson  to  be  brought  in 
if  the  other  two  differ.  X.  says  that  there  has  been  some 
hard  talking  on  the  question  of  men,  and  that  he  never  saw 
L.  G.  look  so  furious  as  when  he  entered  the  Council  room  at 
Versailles.  Clemenceau  had  given  figures,  and  L.  G.  had 
given  others.  Hutchison  had  brought  over  the  real  figures. 
X.  had  advised  Clemenceau  to  keep  off  figures  because  L.  G. 
could  not  be  contradicted  when  he  brought  in  figures  and 
declared  that  he  alone  was  responsible.  Also,  when  he 
threatened  revolution,  Clemenceau  was  again  disarmed.  X. 
said  Clemenceau  had  found  out  L.  G.  and  saw  through  him. 
In  th»-  (veiling  I  was  told  more  about  the  War  Council. 
Yesterday  (Thursday)  L.  G.  had  been  beaten  to  a  frazzle 
on  the  Aleppo  folly,  and  had  not  a  leg  to  stand  on.  This 
morning  In-  took  the  offensive  with  a  resolution  by  Wilson, 
declaring  that  if  the  Western  front  was  secure,  and  if  the 
I1.1l1.1n  theatre  wot  -ate,  the  Aleppo  scheme  might  go  for- 
u.inl,  hut  no  mention  was  made  of  the  competent  authority 

\n|..    II.  P 


2o4   THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

which  would  decide  about  the  '  if's,'  and  consequently  L.  G. 
is  left  with  the  power  to  do  this  mischief.  Robertson  had 
to  get  up  and  stoutly  oppose  this  project,  and  made  things 
bad  for  L.  G.  in  consequence.  Then  came  the  question  of 
the  command  of  the  reserves  in  the  West.  The  first  pro- 
posal was  that  Foch  and  Robertson  should  come  in,  and 
this  was  approved  by  all  the  soldiers  present,  including  Foch 
and  Petain,  but  Wilson  caused  it  to  be  put  aside  on  the 
pretext  that  the  competent  authority  must  be  present  at 
Versailles.  Then  came  two  alternatives.  The  first  was  that 
the  Versailles  military  triumvirate  should  decide  with  the 
civil  members,  and  that  they  should  all  go  together  and  bring 
up  the  reserves.  Whether  Milner  was  to  command  the 
cavalry  was  not  settled.  The  last  scheme  was  that  Foch 
should  command  the  reserves,  with  the  Versailles  Staff  under 
him.  But  in  both  the  two  latter  schemes  the  Versailles 
soldiers  and  civilians  were  to  clear  out  when  fighting  began. 
All  these  schemes  are  forms  of  lunacy.  Clemenceau  was 
not  much  concerned,  as  in  each  he  had  his  man,  Foch.  Haig 
did  not  support  Robertson  in  protesting  against  Aleppo 
because  he  thought  the  latter  plan  outside  his  province. 
This  is  the  gammon  that  is  going  on  before  the  German 
great  offensive. 

Saturday,  Feb.  2.  The  Council  at  Versailles  continues 
this  morning  and  will  end  by  lunch  time.  A  friend  came 
in  and  we  had  a  good  talk,  in  which  I  explained  to  him 
the  whole  position  as  I  saw  it.  He  confirmed  the  report 
that  the  Versailles  soldiers  had  all  signed  a  paper  recom- 
mending the  Aleppo  offensive.  We  discussed  the  Labour 
position.  General  Kentish  came  in  and  I  lunched  with 
him.  We  talked  of  all  the  hardships  of  regimental  officers 
and  of  what  could  be  done  to  redress  them.  He  allows 
me  to  keep  his  papers  on  this  subject  and  to  show  them 
to  Derby.  In  the  afternoon  I  met  the  young  Duchess  of 
Sutherland,  who  is  off  to  the  Riviera  for  her  health  with 
Lady  Ward,  Mrs.  Whitelaw  Reid,  and  a  small  party. 

Went  on  to  the  French  Ministry  of  Marine  and  had  a 
talk  with   Commodore   Heaton-Ellis,  now   liaison   officer 


1918]  SECRET  DIPLOMACY  205 

between  the  two  Navies.  We  discussed  the  Conference, 
invasion,  probable  action  of  the  German  Navy,  and  other 
matters.  He  tells  me  that  the  British  practically  control 
at  sea,  and  that  the  French  always  do  what  we  ask  of 
them.  He  noticed  the  minor  role  which  the  French  Navy 
has  always  played.  He  thought  that  if  the  Germans  could 
get  hold  of  the  Russian  Black  Sea  Fleet  they  might  send 
down  crews  and  man  four  large  ships  and  become  a  nuisance, 
compelling  us  to  divide  our  forces.  I  said  that  when  the 
Danube  thawed  I  expected  to  see  the  German  U-boats  in 
the  Black  Sea,  and  renewed  attacks  by  them  in  the  Eastern 
Mediterranean.  I  did  not  find  him  thinking  much  of  German 
naval  action  on  a  large  scale,  but  I  said  that  a  concentration 
of  the  German  and  Austrian  fleets  seemed  to  me  not  im- 
practicable, and  that  there  were  many  alternative  plans 
open  to  the  Germans,  and  that  I  did  not  see  the  war  ending 
without  Germany  using  her  naval  arm.  We  agreed  about 
Jellicoe's  treatment. 

I  am  carefully  avoiding  our  Mission,  and  have  not  tried  to 
see  anjr  of  them.  Heard  later  that  to-day's  meeting  had 
come  to  no  agreement  about  the  reserves,  except  that  there 
should  be  a  general  over  them,  but  which  of  the  alternative 
systems  was  to  be  chosen  the  Council  could  not  decide.  I 
hear  that  Lucas  is  gloomy  and  thinks  that  our  G.S.  has  been 
beaten  all  along  the  line.  I  am  not  so  sure,  but  I  must  say 
that  a  more  lame  and  impotent  series  of  conclusions  it 
would  be  hard  to  find.  I  met  Robertson  and  Hutchison 
in  the  Rue  Royale,  but  thought  it  best  not  to  speak  to 
them.  Dined  with  a  friend  who  told  me  that  Smuts  had 
been  twice  to  Switzerland,  under  the  assumed  name  of  Mr. 
Ashworth,  to  negotiate  with  the  Austrians  for  a  peace,  but 
had  failed.  One  of  his  visits  was  last  month,  and  one  in 
December  last .  Briand  had  also  employed  earlier  a  fair 
lady  well  known  in  French  society.  Mensdorff  and  Mrs. 
Barton,  who  was  a  Peel,  had  also  met.  The  F.O.  thought 
that  the  An.-tri an-  could  not  make  a  separate  peace,  much 
thougfa  they  irished  to  do  so.  The  visits  of  Smuts,  so  far, 
remain  entirely  unknown  to  the  public.     He  was  coming 


206    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

here  on  Tuesday  on  his  way  to  Palestine,  perhaps  to 
prospect  for  L.  G.'s  Aleppo  campaign.  I  met  Lady 
Congreve  to-night.  '  Squibs '  is  back  in  command  of  the 
7th  Corps  of  Gough's  5th  Army,  and  Lady  C.  is  going 
back  to  work  in  the  Nancy  direction. 

Sunday,  Feb.  3.  The  air  raid  on  Paris  last  Wednesday 
night  was  carried  out  by  four  Boche  squadrons,  which  threw 
about  14,000  kilos,  of  explosives  in  bombs  of  frcm  40  to  100 
kilos,  weight.  About  255  persons  were  killed  and  injured, 
including  49  killed,  and  a  good  lot  of  damage  was  done. 
One  of  the  four  great  metal  lamps  in  the  Place  de  la  Concorde, 
on  the  immediate  right  of  the  road  leading  up  to  the  Arc  de 
Triomphe,  was  cut  off  clean,  about  6  inches  from  the  top,  by 
a  French  aeroplane  which  had  been  forced  to  descend.  So 
ends  the  tale  that  Paris  is  better  defended  than  London. 
The  Boche  airmen  can  come  here  when  they  please.  Much 
talk  of  more  guns  and  aircraft  to  protect  Paris,  but  opinion 
is  no  more  disturbed  about  it  all  here  than  in  London. 
M.  Painleve,  the  late  Prime  Minister,  lunched  with  me  at  the 
Ritz.  We  began  on  the  charges  now  being  brought  against 
him  of  having  stopped  Nivelle's  offensive  on  April  16  last, 
an  accusation  which  I  knew  to  be  false.  It  was  first  launched 
by  a  Geneva  paper,  and  has  since  appeared  at  some  length 
in  the  January  number  of  Collier's  Weekly,  written  by  Mr. 
Wythe  Williams,  who  was  the  New  York  Times  Paris 
correspondent,  but  is  so  no  longer.  Painleve  thinks  that 
it  is  inspired,  if  not  written,  by  Nivelle.  P.  says  that 
Nivelle  many  times  described  his  attack  as  a  great  rush 
which  would  be  an  affair  of  24  to  48  hours,  and  that  Nivelle 
himself  stopped  the  attack  in  this  form  by  12  noon  on  the  17th. 
It  is  not  true  that  some  deputies  got  a  panic  by  witnessing 
the  losses.  P.  places  Nivelle's  losses  in  nine  days  as  70,000 
wounded,  5000  missing,  and  35,000  dead,1  but  he  says  that 
owing  to  exposure  and  hardship  the  sick  and  wounded  alone 
amounted  to  114,000,  excluding  those  who  returned  to  the 
ranks  within  five  days.  The  proof  that  P.  did  not  stop  the 
attack  was  that  it  continued,  though  in  another  form,  and 

1  Comparo  Vol.  i.  pp.  553  and  554. 


1918]  PAINLEVtf  ON  1917  207 

this  is  also  correct.  P.  told  us  that  in  the  secret  session  he 
answered  fully  all  the  charges,  and  in  the  open  sitting  winch 
followed  he  was  much  applauded  and  received  a  unanimous 
vote  of  confidence.  Senator  Berenger's  secret  report  was 
against  him  :  the  latter  had  permitted  people  to  see  it  six 
months  after  it  was  written.  The  report  of  Foch,  Brugere, 
and  Gouraud  was  one  designed  to  cover  a  brother  officer, 
and  Brugere  alone  had  the  courage  to  declare  that  Nivelle 
'  /''a  pas  ete  a  la  hauteur  <le  la  tdche  qu'il  avail  assumee' 
The  fact  was  that  the  orders  of  three  French  Army  Corps 
for  the  attack  were  found  by  the  Bodies  on  a  French  adju- 
tant captured  at  the  Sapigneul  bridge-head  on  April  5. 
These  orders  revealed  the  whole  plan,  and  the  Boches  had 
all  the  preparation  made  to  resist  it.  The  French  columns 
suffered  terribly  in  consequence.  Nothing  has  occurred  to 
alter  the  truth  of  the  fact  that  Nivelle  promised  a  success 
which  he  could  not  achieve,  namely,  the  complete  overthrow 
of  the  Germans.  Petain  had  been  made  Chief  of  the  Staff 
on  April  29,  and  had  then  reviewed  the  Nivelle  plan,  and 
had  decided  to  continue  the  battle  by  a  combat  (Vusure. 

We  then  turned  to  the  recent  proceedings  of  the  Allied 
War  Council,  of  which  I  gave  Painleve  the  sketch  that  rumour 
assigned  to  it.  P.  said  that  from  being  an  organ  to  supervise 
the  general  policy  of  the  war,  the  Council  had  become  an 
executive  organ  for  conducting  it,  and  that  ho  could  not 
conceive  how  such  a  foolish  plan  could  work.  He  was  also 
opposed  to  the  Aleppo  expedition.  We  had  a  long  and 
animated  conversation,  and  he  promised  to  write  and  keep 
me  informed. 

At  4  p.m.  1  went  to  see  Clemenceau  at  the  War  Office. 
A  preliminary  chat  with  Lt. -Colonel  Herschcr  of  his  Cabinet. 
Clemenceau  greeted  me  most  cordially,  and  told  mo  the 
whole  history  of  the  War  Council.  It  had  begun  with  a 
meeting  of  the  four  Premiers  and  the  soldiers,  when  L.  G. 
had  recommended,  in  a  long,  eloquent,  and  clever  speech, 
the  Aleppo  expedition  and  the  idea  of  finishing  the  war  by 
knocking  oul  the  Turk  '  !  Ee  had  told  demenoeau  that 
he  and  the  Westerners  had  no  plan.    Clemenceau  had  re- 


208    THE  WAK  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

plied  in  a  speech  which  he  thought  had  completely  de- 
molished L.  G.'s  case.  He  had  said  that  if  the  Turks  wished 
to  surrender  they  could  do  so  now,  but  that  if  they  thought 
the  Germans  had  the  best  of  things  they  would  not  surrender, 
and  a  march  on  Aleppo  would  not  make  them.  In  reply  to 
L.  G.'s  challenge  of  his  plan,  Clemenceau  replied  that  he 
certainly  had  a  plan,  and  that  it  was  to  hold  out  until  the 
Americans  appeared  in  sufficient  strength,  and  that  this  plan 
might  require  a  year  at  least  to  work  out.  He  showed  up 
all  the  folly  of  L.  G.'s  plan,  and  thought  that  he  had  gained  a 
success  over  our  P.M. 

Next  day  they  came  to  drafting  an  article  to  meet  the 
case,  when  it  was  agreed  that  the  expedition  should  only 
take  place  if  the  situation  elsewhere  rendered  it  safe,  and 
Clemenceau  caused  to  be  inserted  the  proviso  that  no  troops 
for  it  should  be  taken  from  the  French  and  British  Armies 
in  the  West  or  from  those  at  Salonika.  C.  thought  that  the 
expedition  was  defeated  by  these  provisions,  but  I  said  that 
I  did  not  feel  sure.  Robertson  made  a  brilliant  and  emphatic 
speech  opposing  the  expedition,  and  Clemenceau  stated 
openly  that  he  agreed  with  R.,  but  the  article  was  agreed  to 
as  C.  thought  it  harmless.  This  is  more  than  I  do,  but 
I  do  not  see  what  more  C.  and  R.  could  have  done  in  the 
circumstances. 

The  second  main  point  was  the  question  of  effectives. 
Hutchison  produced  our  figures,  which  showed  our  weakness 
and  failure  to  provide  the  men,  as  mine  had  done.  Foch  then 
got  up  and  made  a  good  speech  on  the  same  subject,  support- 
ing my  point  of  view.  L.  G.  replied  and  asked  whether  he  was 
to  take  men  from  mines,  shipyards,  etc.,  which  were  supplying 
the  Allies  ?  No  one  had  asked  him  to  do  so,  commented 
Clemenceau.  L.  G.  then  went  on  to  threaten  a  social  revolu- 
tion 1  if  the  country  were  asked  for  more  men,  and  made  the 
most  of  the  argument.     Foch  then  rose  to  continue  the  dis- 

1  The  absurdity  of  this  argument  was  shown  later.  Between  our 
defeat  of  March  21,  1918,  and  the  Armistice  of  November  11  we  sent 
740,624  men  to  France,  including  112,738  Dominion  troops,  and  there 
was  not  one  murmur,  still  less  a  social  revolution. 


1918]  THE  THREE  MAIN  POINTS  209 

cussion,  when  L.  G.  waved  him  down  and  refused  to  listen 
to  any  more  discussion  on  the  subject,  which  was  one  way 
of  treating  the  Allied  Council.  The  whole  object  of  L.  G., 
Clemenceau  thought,  was  to  exclude  from  the  discussion  the 
consideration  of  subjects  which  L.  G.,  for  his  own  purposes, 
claimed  as  the  business  of  his  Government  alone,  and 
Clemenceau  said  that  as  L.  G.  took  these  grounds  the  French 
could  not  insist  nor  carry  the  argument  beyond  a  certain 
point.  He  said  that  L.  G.  was  obviously  very  angry,  and 
that  it  would  never  have  done  for  the  Council  to  have  broken 
up  over  a  question  of  this  kind.' 

The  last  question  was  that  of  the  reserves.  It  had  been 
finally  decided — and  that  was  news  to  me,  and  very  bad 
news — that  the  Versailles  soldiers,  one  from  each  of  the  four 
nations  (with  Weygand  excluded  at  Italian  suggestion,  and 
Foch  acting  as  President),  were  to  have  control  of  the  reserves, 
were  to  have  the  right  of  going  about  among  the  Armies  and 
of  looking  into  things,  and,  generally,  of  directing  the  reserves 
as  they  wished.  Thus  both  Haig  and  Robertson  are  prac- 
tically relieved  of  responsibility,  which  is  vested  in  a  Board 
by  political  decision.  It  is  disunity  of  command  and  three 
Richmonds  in  the  field.  Clemenceau  said  that  Pershing  had 
risen  to  regret  the  exclusion  of  Robertson  from  the  Board, 
and  that  he,  Clemenceau,  had  also  delivered  a  panegyric 
upon  Robertson,  describing  him  as  one  of  the  greatest 
authorities  of  the  Allied  Armies.  I  asked  Clemenceau  a 
number  of  questions  about  the  powers  of  the  Board,  but 
could  see  no  ray  of  light  in  this  dismal  gloom  except  that  the 
plan  might  be  reconsidered  at  another  meeting  of  the  Council 
six  weeks  later  in  London.  Clemenceau  declared  to  me  that 
X.'s  military  opinion  and  judgment  were  not  worth  a  scrap 
of  paper.  Clemenceau  said  that  they  had  asked  Italy  to 
send  to  France  a  number  of  troops  equivalent  to  the  Franco- 
British  troops  dispatched  to  Italy.  He  thought  the  Italian 
troops  not  bad,  and  only  their  commanders  to  be  bad.  Ho 
thought  that  the  Italians  would  refuse,  in  which  case  we 
could  take  our  troops  away  Mid  could  regard  them  as  an 
additional  reserve.     I  spoke  to  Clemenceau  about  a  French 


2io    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

friend  of  mine  and  advised  him  to  see  him  whenever  he  wanted 
to  know  anything  about  our  Army.  He  promised  to  see  any 
one  whom  I  sent  to  him.  He  also  told  me  that  Count  Czernin 
had  offered  to  meet  L.  G.  in  Switzerland,  and  that  our  War 
Cabinet  had  considered  the  offer  and  had  refused. 

We  had  a  long  talk  over  other  subjects  connected  with  the 
war,  and  then  I  drove  back  to  the  Ritz  to  meet  the  Duchesse 
d'Uzes  at  tea,  and  had  a  talk  with  her  for  a  couple  of  hours 
over  her  adventures.  She  told  me  that  she  had  warned  the 
French  Government  of  Bulgaria's  intention  to  side  against  us 
three  months  before  it  happened,  and  had  been  laughed  to 
scorn.  At  Briand's  invitation  she  had  gone  to  Switzerland 
and  had  met  an  intimate  friend  of  the  Emperor  Karl's.  She 
had  received  answers  to  all  the  questions  that  she  had  been 
asked  to  put  forward,  and  had  waited  for  a  fortnight  with 
the  Austrian  for  a  reply  from  Paris.  She  had  at  last  come 
to  Paris  to  see  what  had  happened,  and  Briand  had  then 
fallen,  and  had  never,  she  thought,  even  read  her  letter.  She 
was  sure  that  Briand  would  use  her  again  if  he  came  back, 
but  that  he  did  not  want  any  one  else  to  obtain  the  credit 
for  having  won  over  the  Austrians.  The  Duchesse  works 
through  her  Bourbon  political  friends,  and  through  the 
Spanish  Court  and  personal  friends  in  Austria,  including 
the  present  young  Empress.  She  also  uses  the  '  Black 
Pope,'  or  General  of  the  Jesuits,  whose  headquarters 
are  in  Switzerland,  and  she  is  sure,  first,  that  Austria 
wants  peace  badly;  secondly,  that  the  Emperor  can  and 
will  sign  a  peace  on  his  own  responsibility  ;  and,  thirdly, 
that  the  Black  and  White  Popes  will  help  with  all 
their  power.  This  clever  and  attractive  lady,  brilliant 
in  conversation,  and  very  capable,  is  most  contemptuous 
of  the  F.O.  and  Quai  d'Orsay  diplomacy.  She  declares 
that  Stunner  and  the  Germans  made  an  agreement  over 
Austria's  head  ;  that  the  proof  and  the  papers  are  in  Russia 
and  might  be  obtained  ;  and  that  if  they  could  be  obtained, 
Austria  would  Idcher  the  Bodies  at  once.  We  did  not  think 
much  of  Mensdorff's  assurance  to  Mrs.  Barton  that  Austria 
would  never  make  peace  without  Germany,  as  we  considered 


1918]  DE  SALIS  ON  THE  VATICAN  211 

this  the  usual  Ball-Platz  formula,  and  (lid  not  suppose  that 
ML  would  convey  to  Mrs.  Barton  anything  else.  It  is  the 
young  Emperor  and  his  personal  surroundings,  including  his 
Carmelite  confessor,  that  the  Duchesse  wishes  to  act  upon. 
It  is  just  conceivable  that  this  attractive  grandc  dame  of  the 
old  regime  may  be  better  able  to  influence  the  Austrian 
Emperor's  surroundings  than  ordinary  diplomats.  Clemen- 
ceau  ought,  at  all  events,  to  see  the  Austrian  answers  which 
she  brought  bark  with  her. 

Mr,  and  Mrs.  Bliss,  of  the  American  Embassy,  and  Le  Roy 
dined  with  me.  She  was  looking  very  pretty  and  was  most 
pleasant.  Afterwards  we  adjourned  to  my  rooms  with  Lady 
Congreve  and  had  a  talk.  Bliss  and  I  talked  America.  He 
confirms  what  I  know  already  about  this  question.  I  told 
him  of  my  strong  objections  to  the  incorporation  of  American 
units  in  our  formations,  and  I  was  relieved  to  hear  from  him 
that  it  was  doubtful  whether  this  proposal  would  be  accept- 
able ;  in  fact,  he  plainly  hinted  that  it  would  not  be.  He  is 
Councillor  at  the  Embassy.  There  was,  he  said,  now  a  great 
deal  of  criticism  of  the  Executive  at  Washington,  and  the 
main  faults  found  were  the  constriction  in  the  neck  of  the 
bottle  and  want  of  decentralisation.  They  Mere  faced  by 
a  task  of  unheard-of  difficulty. 

Count  de  Salis,  our  Minister  at  the  Vatican,  was  at 
the  next  table  at  dinner  and  came  up  to  my  rooms 
to  talk  when  the  ladies  had  gone.  He  considers  that 
the  Vatican  Mould  look  with  more  than  favourable  eyes 
upon  an  agreement  between  us  and  Austria,  and  Mould 
help  us  in  every  possible  May.  The  F.O.  had  told  him  that 
Ledochowsky,  the  General  of  the  Jesuits,  was  a  German, 
whereas  he  is,  of  course,  an  Austrian  Pole,  and  de  S.  said  that 
Ledochowsky  has  a  great  position  at  the  Vatican  and  is 
extremely  influential,  having  his  own  representative  there. 
All  that  he  said  confirmed  me  in  my  first  impression  thai 
tlm  Duchesse  is  on  the  right  road.  He  says  that  Cardinal 
6a  parrj  and  I  are  the  two  first  military  critics  in  Europe. 
H<-  does  not  know  whence  Gasparri  gets  his  information, 
but  it  is  very  good.     1  told  him  the  story  of  my  visit  to 


2i2    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

Rome  in  1882,  when  I  was  recommended  by  my  aunt,  Lady 
Herbert  of  Lea,  to  one  of  the  Jesuits,  who  laughed  to  scorn 
my  youthful  ideas  of  an  early  and  great  war,  saying  that  I 
must  wait  until  all  the  alliances  were  formed  and  that  then 
there  would  be  trouble — as  there  has  been,  in  all  conscience. 
An  interesting  day.  Clemenceau's  last  words  to  me  before 
I  left  were,  '  Stop  the  side-shows  and  send  us  men.'  Our 
conversation  was  entirely  in  French.  I  should  add  that 
Clemenceau  expressed  much  anxiety  about  the  German 
mustard  gas  or  yperite,  and  said  that  recently  three  French 
batteries  had  had  40,  60,  and  80  per  cent,  of  their  men 
placed  hors  de  combat  by  it. 

Monday,  Feb.  4.  General  Godley  came  in  to  have  a  talk. 
We  agreed  that  the  best  solution  at  the  point  we  have 
reached  would  be  to  have  an  exclusively  French  Army 
of  Reserve  under  a  French  general,  and  to  leave  the  British 
out  of  the  reserves,  though,  if  necessary,  with  a  broader 
front.  Godley  does  not  like  the  new  nine  battalion  division, 
apart  from  the  loss  of  men,  as  a  brigade  of  three  battalions 
cannot  have  two  in  the  line  and  two  out ;  in  fact,  he  prefers 
divisions  also  to  be  of  four  brigades,  as  I  do,  and  thinks 
that  our  present  divisions  are  over-staffed.  G.  would  have 
preferred  to  lose  divisions  instead  of  battalions  as  it  would 
have  provided  so  many  more  good  cadres.  He  admits 
the  inefficiency  of  the  machine-gun  corps  at  Cambrai.  They 
will  now  become  a  divisional  unit,  perhaps  as  a  battalion, 
and  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  make  them  a  corps  d 'elite, 
as  the  Germans  are.  Godley  says  that  five  to  six  feet  of  re- 
inforced concrete  will  keep  off  all  but  direct  hits  by  12-inch 
and  15-inch  guns.  He  is  wiring  and  digging  for  all  he  is 
worth  and  using  the  Boche  pill-boxes,  which  are  most 
valuable.  He  thinks  that  Hunter- Weston,  who  is  on  his 
left,  can  be  turned  out  of  Passchendaele  whenever  the  Boches 
choose.  Godley 's  real  trouble  on  the  Menin  Road  position 
is  want  of  depth.  He  can  only  fight  back  about  3000  yards, 
and  will  then  be  in  the  mud  again.  What  he  dreads  is  a 
succession  of  great  bombardments  and  attacks.  Godley 
met,  in  the  Riviera,  Prince  Aga  Rosenborg  of  Denmark, 


1918J     CONVERSATION  WITH  M.  BRIAND       213 

who  has  just  come  through  Germany.  He  was  nearly 
starved,  and  says  that  the  food  conditions  are  inconceivably 
bad.  He  thinks,  in  fact,  that  the  Boches  cannot  stick 
it  out  through  the  winter,  although  the  winter  is  nearly 
over,  and  he  says  that  he  had  more  chance  of  getting  food 
than  most  people.  The  Prince  is  the  nephew  of  Queen 
Alexandra,  and  pro-British  in  his  sympathies.  He  describes 
the  German  espionage  system  as  first  rate. 

This  morning  there  is  published  an  official  and  completely 
fantastic  compte  rendu  of  the  proceedings  of  the  War  Council. 
Le  Roy  described  it  as  hogwash  and  molasses.  It  tells 
absolutely  nothing  of  the  decisions  taken,  and  is  merely  a 
fanfaronade  of  a  silly  character,  with  patriotic  variations. 
It  appears  to  have  been  drafted  in  English,  except  the  last 
paragraph,  which  is  obviously  French.  The  approval  is 
general  in  the  French  Press  because  they  either  do  not 
know  or  do  not  understand. 

M.  Briand,  the  penultimate  Prime  Minister,  came  to 
lunch  with  me.  Le  Roy  came  in  later,  and  we  sat  talking 
from  12.30  to  3.  Briand  is  a  most  fascinating  and  charm- 
ing companion.  He  has  been  seven  times  Prime  Minister 
and  may  be  again.  He  has  great  experience  and  much 
depth  of  knowledge.  He  is  more  restful  than  L.  G.,  loves 
a  good  story,  has  a  warm  corner  in  his  heart  for  a  pretty 
woman,  and  is  very  human.  His  conversation  is  inter- 
spersed with  flashes  of  wit  which  come  and  go  so  lightly 
that  one  forgets  most  of  them  all  too  quickly.  His  view 
of  the  situation  is  that  no  one  has  risen  to  the  level  of  the 
war  nor  has  understood  its  changing  character.  It  is  now 
a  war  of  peoples  and  of  all  the  peoples,  including  the  women 
and  children,  who  are  threatened  even  in  their  homes  by 
bombs  while  the  bourgeois  is  sleeping  by  his  bourgeoise. 
No  one  imagined  that  there  could  be  such  a  war  as  this, 
or  will  ever  permit  it  to  recur,  but  at  present  all  the  old 
machinery  for  dealing  with  a  campaign  has  broken  down 

on  account  of  the  magnit  u<l<-  of  1  he  war,  and  we  are  drifting. 
1I«-  thinks  that  the  moment  has  more  than  como  for  the 
diplomatic  offensive  and  that  nothing  is  being  done.     He 


2i4    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

was  not  in  favour  of  treating  with  Austria  before  Russia's 
collapse,  because  we  could  only  satisfy  Austria  at  the  expense 
of  our  Allies ;  but  now  that  Russia  is  out  of  the  hunt  he  is 
all  for  parleying,  and  holds  that  no  conversation  offered 
should  be  refused.  I  put  it  to  him  what  should  be  done 
if  Czernin  offered  to  talk  with  L.  G.,  and  Briand  said  that 
most  certainly  he  should  go.  He  was  sarcastic  about 
Smuts's  visit  to  Switzerland,  and  declared  that  Smuts  had 
asked  for  a  '  Yes '  or  a  '  No '  to  a  string  of  questions ;  then  had 
given  a  military  salute  and  had  turned  on  his  heel  and  gone 
off  home  when  he  did  not  get  what  he  wanted  in  a  trice. 
Briand  thinks  that  he  should  have  stayed  and  talked. 

Last  September,  said  Briand,  he  had  been  approached  and 
was  told  definitely  that  the  German  Chancellor  would  meet 
him  with  the  Kaiser's  full  approval,  and  that  if  the  Chancellor 
could  not  come  the  emissary  would  be  fully  equipped  with 
credentials.  He  had  taken  steps  to  ascertain  the  German 
points  of  view  about  certain  matters,  such  as  Alsace-Lorraine 
and  the  German  colonies,  and  he  hinted  at  some  neutralisa- 
tion of  a  large  zone  on  the  Franco-German  frontier  where  there 
would  be  no  troops  or  works,  and  thought  that  this  would 
lead  up  to  the  settlement  of  the  Alsace  and  Lorraine 
questions.  Germany  wished  to  settle  this  matter  with 
France  directly.  As  to  the  German  colonies,  the  paper 
which  he  received  gave  it  to  be  understood  that  Germany 
was  prepared  for  many  of  them  to  remain  dans  les  griffes 
de  V Angleterre.  But  M.  Ribot  would  not  proceed  with  this 
interesting  conversation,  and  so  the  thing  fell  through.  It 
had  been  renewed  this  last  January,  but  nothing  had  come 
of  it  that  he  knew.  Briand  thought  that  the  Allies  should 
have  made  a  declaration  at  an  earlier  stage  announcing 
the  creation  of  their  League  of  Peace,  defining  its  aims, 
explaining  the  principles  of  obligatory  arbitration  which 
they  intended  to  follow,  and  stating  that  they  intended 
to  divide  up  the  raw  materials  of  the  world  amongst  each 
other ;  and  that  while  our  enemies  could  join  the  League 
as  equals,  they  would  be  refused  all  share  in  the  raw  materials 
of  the  world  unless  they  made  peace  on  reasonable  terms. 


1918]  BRIAND  ON  1916  215 

In  short,  we  had  not  made  use  of  our  economic  arms — 
partly  because  America  was  anxious  about  her  cotton — 
any  more  than  we  had  made  use  of  our  diplomatic  arms, 
and  he  deplored  the  fact. 

Briand  did  not  think  that  the  people  of  France  looked 
upon  the  American  Army  as  a  Messiah  or  had  any  ex- 
aggerated view  of  its  powers.  They  rather  regarded 
America  as  a  vast  storehouse  of  supplies  of  all  kinds, 
and  from  this  point  of  view  it  was  priceless.  He  im- 
plied that  America  was  not  seriously  in  the  war,  but 
I  did  not  agree.  We  then  went  into  the  question  of 
the  Allied  War  Council,  of  which  I  said  that  instead  of 
becoming  an  organ  for  arranging  general  policy  and  giving 
unified  direction  to  the  war,  it  had  become  an  instru- 
ment for  the  executive  direction  of  military  operations, 
which  were  outside  its  province,  and  that  it  had  lost  itself 
in  its  interference  with  details,  especially  on  the  military 
side.  Briand  agreed  with  this  and  thought  that  the  Allied 
Councils  had  done  much  better  in  his  day.  He  went 
through  the  history  of  1916  and  the  preparation  for  1917, 
and  thought  the  former  year  especially  good  in  the  sense 
of  preparation  and  execution  of  great  combined  movements. 
He  considered  that  1917  had  failed  in  part  owing  to  Russia 
and  Italy,  but  also  in  part  because  the  French  offensive 
had  not  been  continued,  and  that  Painleve  had  announced 
the  fact  in  the  Chambers,  whereupon  the  Germans  had 
massed  against  the  English,  who  were  unable  to  break 
through.  We  returned  to  the  point  about  the  proper 
duties  of  the  Allied  War  Council  more  than  once  and  always 
in  the  same  sense. 

Wc  said  a  few  things  about  the  new  scheme  of  placing 
the  reserves  of  the  Armies  under  a  Board  of  Control,  and 
none  of  Qfi  approved  of  it.  Briand  thinks  a  generalissime 
an  impracticable  ideal,  and  admits  that  the  new  scheme 
may  be  directed  to  the  accomplishment  of  important  objects, 
hut  is  not  wisely  framed  i<»  attain  them,  How  could  a 
gfnSnUsnme  at  Paris,  he  said,  have  prevented  the  Italians 
bom  losing  260,000  men  and  3000  guns  in  three  days  ! 


216    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

We  had  a  good  talk  about  the  Marne  and  to  whom  the 
victory  was  due.  The  idea  of  standing  came  up  at  a  Council 
in  Paris,  when  it  was  agreed,  on  Briand's  suggestion,  and 
just  as  the  Council  was  breaking  up,  to  ask  Joffre  to  take 
this  course.  He  said  that  he  would  if  the  British  would 
move  up  on  his  left.  This  was  referred  to  London,  and  was 
approved,  subject  to  the  British  left  being  covered.  This 
led  to  the  hasty  improvisation  of  Maunoury's  army  from 
all  elements  at  disposal,  and  its  appearance  at  the  critical 
moment  when  its  attack,  which  was  not  suspected  by 
the  enemy,  was  most  important.  The  God  of  Chance  had 
ruled.  Briand  referred  to  the  question  of  personages  to 
whom  credit  was  most  due  for  the  victory.  He  thought 
that  though  Joffre  did  not  plan  the  battle  he  showed  admir- 
able firmness  in  directing  it  when  it  began.  There  were, 
in  fact,  six  battles,  and  they  were  all  successful.  Every 
general  who  fought  only  saw  his  own  sector,  and  thought 
that  he  had  won  the  battle,  whereas  it  was  the  co-opera- 
tion of  all  that  really  won  it.  It  was  after  Foch's  blow  in 
the  St.  Gond  marshes  that  the  German  order  of  retreat 
was  given. 

We  then  discussed  Eastern  affairs,  and  the  concentric 
and  eccentric  schools.  I  did  not  tease  Briand  about 
Salonika,  nor  remind  him  of  our  conversation  in  1916,  as 
I  thought  it  would  vex  him,  but  he  told  us  how  he 
had  brought  L.  G.  to  the  view  of  sending  300,000  men 
to  Salonika  in  Jan.  1915,  and  of  how  this  scheme  met 
with  the  opposition  of  the  French  and  British  Staffs. 
From  this  we  passed  on  to  the  Laibach  campaign,  which 
Briand  wished  the  Italians  to  have  prosecuted  after  they 
took  Gorizia  in  1916.  I  saw  that  Briand  had  still  not 
studied  the  conditions  of  an  advance  on  Vienna,  but  as  we 
were  not  at  a  Staff  Conference,  I  did  not  refer  to  them. 
From  that  we  branched  into  a  forecast  of  what  history 
would  say  of  us,  and  who  now  alive  would  say  it.  He 
admitted  that  no  records  of  Cabinet  meetings  were  kept, 
and  when  I  asked  about  the  records  of  the  secret  sessions 
he  said  that  those  of  the  1870  war  had  never  been  published, 


1918]  BRIAND  DEFINES  HISTORY  217 

and  that  the  present  ones  would  also  remain  under  seals.1 
Briand  Mas  a  1 1  ifle  contemptuous  of  history,  which  he  wittily 
described  as  a  lie  promoted  to  the  rank  of  trut  h  by  repetition, 
and  he  did  not  know  who  was  keeping  full  notes  of  these 
affairs  in  Paris.  He  personally  had  no  papers  at  all ;  he  had 
burnt  them  all.  The  first  thing  to  learn  in  politics,  said 
Briand,  Mas  that  2  and  2  were  not  4,  but  either  3  or  5,  and 
for  a  Rothschild  they  were  22.  He  admitted  that  he  was 
glad  of  a  rest.  The  labours  of  Parliament  and  on  the 
Commissions  were  terrific.  They  would  break  down  all 
but  the  strongest.  Le  Roy  told  the  story  of  how  he  met 
Briand  and  Viviani  in  the  street  one  day.  They  were 
disputing  about  some  debate,  and  Briand  was  protesting 
that  he  was  bound  to  stick  to  certain  principles.  '  Alors, ' 
said  Viviani,  '  Alors  appuyons-nous  sur  les  principes.  lis 
sont  surs  de  ceder.' 

Briand  made  a  particular  point  of  the  total  change  in 
the  East  arising  from  the  collapse  of  Russia.  Austria  had 
now  Germany  for  chief  rival.  Russia  was  out  of  Balkan 
affairs.  Turkey  had  modern  Bulgaria  to  fear  more  than 
Russia.  These  were  great  changes,  and  they  were  teach- 
ing us  nothing.  The  moment  had  come  to  fight  with  all 
our  arms,  whether  naval,  military,  diplomatic,  economic, 
religious,  or  other,  but  we  were  not  doing  so,  and  the  Allied 
War  Council  was  trying  to  make  itself  into  a  general  and 
that  was  all.  Briand  on  leaving  made  many  flattering 
references  to  my  work  during  the  war,  and  said  that  I  was 
one  of  the  very  few  men  in  Europe  who  saw  clearly.  He 
asked  me  to  see  him  whenever  I  was  in  Paris.  Le  Roy 
says  that  he  is  an  honest  man,  and  has  only  £240  a  year 
saved  from  his  pay,  plus  his  pay  as  a  deputy. 

In  the  afternoon  I  went  with  Le  Roy  to  see  the  Leave  Club 
at  8  Place  de  la  Republique.  Miss  Decima  Moore  and  Parson 
Blunt  took  us  round.  It  is  for  British  soldiers  and  sailors 
on  leave  from  the  front,  and  is  mainly  used  by  our  Dominion 
troops.      Baron  D'Krlan^er  has  hired  t  he  hotel.     Some  13,000 

men  have  used  it  since  August  last,  when  it  was  opened,  and 

1  They  have  rinoe  beta  pabltahed  in  part. 


218    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

83,000  meals  have  been  served  up  to  the  end  of  December. 
Some  260  beds  are  all  occupied.  It  is  an  invaluable  in- 
stitution and  very  well  managed.  The  men  deposit  their 
money,  and  have  already  deposited  over  £20,000.  There 
are  club  rooms,  newspapers,  writing-rooms,  billiards,  baths, 
entertainments,  and  dances.  It  is  self-supporting  to  a 
large  extent,  as  the  beds  are  5s.  to  2s.  6d.  a  night,  and 
meals  cost  2s.  6d.  dinner  and  lunch,  and  Is.  6d.  tea.  There 
are  women  guides  to  take  the  men  over  Paris,  and  there 
are  even  riding  parties  as  well  as  theatre  parties.  The 
dances  are  very  popular,  and  the  men  are  supplied  with 
dancing  shoes.  There  were  6000  men  at  the  Club  on 
Christmas  Day,  and  not  one  case  of  drunkenness. 

Le  Roy  and  I  dined  together  and  discussed  affairs.  The 
arrival  of  General  Smuts  is  postponed  until  Wednesday. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  5.  I  was  shown  a  report  on  Civil  Educa- 
tion in  the  3rd  Canadian  Division  of  General  Lipsett.  The 
idea  is  to  institute  lectures  on  general  subjects,  in  order  to  give 
men  a  wide  view  of  their  duties  as  citizens  on  their  return 
home,  and,  as  soon  as  active  operations  stop,  to  hold  classes 
to  help  men  in  their  work  on  their  return  to  civil  life. 

Educationalists  of  wide  experience  are  employed,  such 
as  Captain  Oliver,  who  had  helped  to  found  the  University 
of  Saskatchewan.  Lipsett  proposes  that  the  civil  train- 
ing should  be  grafted  on  to  the  military  training,  and  not 
be  under  a  separate  control,  as  by  working  under  the 
military  organisation  we  are  alone  able  to  teach  all  the 
men.  The  officers  to  be  employed  should  be  on  the  Staff 
of  the  formation,  and  must  be  really  able  men.  They 
should  get  into  touch  with  the  needs  of  the  labour  market 
and  employment  agencies,  and  they  should  be  of  great 
use  to  the  various  demobilisation  committees.  It  must 
be  introduced  gradually.  This  movement  has  my  entire 
sympathy,  and  we  must  start  it  after  the  war. 

Wrote  to  Gwynne.  Tried  to  do  some  shopping  and  found 
all  the  shops  closed  until  1  or  2  p.m.  Lunched  at  the  Ritz. 
Lady  Congreve  came  and  sat  with  me  and  talked.  She 
is  off  to  work  in  a  French  hospital  between  Nancy  and 


1918]  CRITICISMS  FEARED  219 

Luneville,  where  heav\  losses  are  expected.  The  French 
wounded,  she  says,  are  still  much  less  well  off  than  ours. 
She  says  that  the  Countess  Cecile  d'Hautpoul  and  Elinor 
Glyn  want  to  make  my  acquaintance.  The  d'Hautpoul 
lady  is  very  attractive.  Motored  and  walked  with  X. 
He  told  me  that  Duneannon,  Wilson's  A.D.C.,  is  very 
anxious  about  the  criticisms  which  the  arrangement 
about  the  Higher  Command  may  provoke  in  England, 
and  said  that  that  terrible  fellow,  Repington,  was  in  Paris, 
and  would  be  sure  to  learn  all  about  it  and  inform  Gwynne. 
How  dreadful !  I  don't  wonder  that  they  are  nervous. 
Duneannon  admitted  that  Amery  had  drafted  the  com- 
munique, all  except  the  last  paragraph,  which  was  by 
Clemenceau.  It  seems  to  me  that  Amery  and  his  em- 
ployers are  trying  to  run  a  red  herring  across  the  scent 
by  a  patriotic  ebullition  which  seems  to  have  taken  in 
the  Allied  capitals.  But  one  story  is  good  till  another  is 
told,  and  we  shall  see.  What  will  President  Wilson  and 
Balfour  say  of  this  amateur  plunge  into  the  diplomatic 
china  shop  ? 

Looked  in  to  see  the  Countess  Ghislaine  de  Caraman 
(  himay  and  her  sister,  the  Countess  Greffuhle.  The  former 
has  a  little  leisure,  as  the  Queen  of  the  Belgians  has  taken 
her  sick  son  to  Mentone.  The  King  was  to  have  gone  there 
to-day,  but  is  delayed  to  talk  with  his  Ministers  about  the 
declaration  of  independence  of  Belgian  Flanders,  which 
the  Boches  have  got  some  foolish  Flemish  people  to  support, 
and  it  is  a  great  worry  to  the  King.  Ghislaine  is  sure  that 
we  can  have  all  the  Vatican  party  with  us  if  we  negotiate 
with  Austria,  but  that  the  French  and  Italian  Freemasons 
will  combine  against  it.  Countess  Greffuhle  is  accused  of 
having  put  up  Painleve  to  perquisition  the  Action  Fr<m- 
caise  people.  He  is  a  great  friend  of  hers.  Her  husband 
constantly  rates  her  about  it,  and  when  she  began  to  exclaim 
about  thf  raid  the  oilier  night  when  the  bombswere  foiling, 
he  declared  I  hat  Bhe  was  merely  making  use  of  it  as  a  diver- 
sion I  It  is  generally  supposed  that  Bolo  will  be  shot, — 
in  which  case   I  -hall  win  my  bet    with  the  postmistress — 

VOL.  II.  Q 


220    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

that  Malvy  will  get  off  with  idat  as  every  one  considers 
the  charge  of  treachery  to  be  absurd,  and  that  unless  better 
evidence  can  be  produced  against  Caillaux,  who  is  re- 
garded as  un  fou,  he  may  get  off  too,  or  at  all  events  only 
get  a  light  sentence.  The  Rue  d'Astorg  ladies  think  that 
Clemenceau  will  only  last  two  or  three  months  longer,  but 
1  The  Tiger  '  has  often  disappointed  those  who  offer  to  sell 
his  skin  before  he  is  killed. 

Tried  to  see  M.  Loucheur,  but  he  is  due  to  start  for  London. 
I  am  to  try  and  call  in  after  lunch  to-morrow  at  the  Rue 
d'Astorg  to  see  General  Leman,  the  Belgian  hero  of  Liege. 
The  ladies  say  that  he  is  very  ill.  The  Prince  of  Wales 
is  in  Paris.  Ghislaine  told  me  that  Count  Shrinsky,  the 
Duchesse  d'Uzes's  Austrian  friend,  is  a  tres  brave  homme. 
The  Duchesse,  says  Le  Roy,  has  forests  which  we  have  to 
cut  down.  She  interviewed  Lord  Lovat  about  it,  and 
exclaimed  afterwards  that  she  expected  to  find  an  immacu- 
lately dressed  Peer  of  the  Realm,  and  was  dismayed  with 
Simon  because  there  was  an  expanse  of  sock  between  his 
leggings  and  his  boots  !  I  must  warn  Simon  to  be  more 
particular  in  his  dress  if  he  meets  this  Duchesse  again. 
The  ladies  used  to  speak  more  reverently  of  him,  and  I 
begin  to  doubt  the  Duchesse's  judgment  if  she  does  not 
know  a  man  when  she  meets  one.  Ghislaine  told  me  to-day 
that  the  young  Empress  of  Austria  hates  the  Germans  like 
the  devil,  and  that  her  suite,  like  Count  Hunyadi,  are  all 
of  the  same  way  of  thinking.  The  Empress's  two  brothers 
are  in  the  Belgian  Army,  and  she  wishes  that  they  had  been 
admitted  to  the  English  Army  and  had  been  now  in  Italy, 
as  it  would  have  produced  a  great  effect.  But  we  never 
do  anything  so  sensible  ! 

Le  Roy  and  I  dined  together.  Elinor  Glyn  came  and 
talked  to  us.  A  woman  nearing  fifty,  with  good  features, 
and  may  have  been  seductive  when  younger.  She  is 
writing  two  books  and  a  magazine  story.  She  says  that 
it  makes  a  difference  of  £3000  to  her  if  she  publishes  a 
book  in  a  magazine  first.  America  is  the  place  to  make 
money  journalistically.     She  never  sells  a  story  under  5d. 


1918]  A  VISIT  TO  COMPIEGNE  221 

a  word  !     She  prefers  to  write  in  the  morning,  which  is  her 
high  tide  she  says. 

Milner  was  in  the  Embassy  to-day.  He  admitted  that 
Czernin  had  tried  to  talk  with  L.  G.,  and  that  our  refusal 
had  been  due  to  consideration  for  Italy.  Milner  says 
that  the  Press  have  received  the  communique  very  well. 
I  am  not  surprised,  as  it  bears  no  relation  whatever  to 
the  proceedings  of  the  Council.  He  expects  that  the  first 
criticism  will  come  from  the  Morning  Post.  It  is  highly 
probable.  This  evening  I  induced  Le  Roy  to  send  a 
cipher  telegram  to  London  to  suggest  a  Grand  Cross  l  for 
General  Leman,  who  has  already  received  the  Grand  Cross 
of  the  Legion  and  the  Leopold.  They  are  slow-thinking 
folk  in  London,  and  appear  to  have  forgotten  Leman's 
heroism  and  fine  attitude. 

Wednesday,  Feb.  6.  Lunched  to-day  with  Prince  and 
Princess  Radziwill,  Miss  Gladys  Deacon,  and  Roman 
Dmowski,  the  head  of  the  Polish  Committee  in  Paris.  A 
cheery  lunch  with  much  chaff.  I  liked  Miss  Deacon,  though 
she  is  not  quite  so  pretty  as  her  sister  the  Princess.  Dmowski 
has  character,  and  we  agreed  to  meet  at  dinner  to-morrow. 
He  evidently  knows  more  about  the  Polish  plans  than  most 
people,  and  told  me  that  the  Polish  Army  Corps  which  has 
been  at  Minsk  is  the  only  one  left  intact  on  the  Russian 
front.  Dmowski  doubts  that  we  can  do  anything  with 
Kaiser  Karl,  and  his  panacea  is  to  break  up  Austria. 

After  lunch  motored  to  Compiegne.  Good  roads  and  a 
pleasant  afternoon.  Found  Clive  at  the  Mission  and  had  a 
talk.  Gave  him  my  views  of  recent  affairs,  and  he  told  me 
that  our  Army  feeling  was  the  same,  and  that  Joffre's  chief 
staff  officer  had  just  spoken  to  him  about  the  decisions  of 
the  War  Council  exactly  as  I  had  spoken  to  Clive,  and  almost 
in  the  same  words.  Ho  thought  that  it  was  all  very  serious, 
and  the  more  by  reason  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  extent 
of  the  powers  of  the  Versailles  Council.  He  thought  that 
Haig  and  Petain  were  quite  competent  to  control  the  troops 
on  their  front,  and  said  that  Haig  was  quite  prepared  to 
1  General  Loman  waa  afterwards  given  the  G.C.M.G. 


222    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

come  and  stay  at  Compiegne  so  as  to  be  beside  Petain  when 
the  pinch  came.  He  was  sure  that  they  would  get  on  all 
right  together.  He  recommended  that  I  should  see  X. 
on  my  return,  and  also  address  the  Unionist  Committee  at 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  that  this  would  be  better  than 
another  Press  attack,  and  might  do  more  good. 

Dined  with  General  Petain  and  his  Staff.  He  is  just  back 
from  a  tour  in  Alsace.  There  are  plenty  of  German  reserves 
in  rear  there,  but  the  ground  is  very  spongy  and  not  ready 
for  an  attack  yet.  Petain  began  at  once  about  our  effectives, 
and  told  me  that  he  was  greatly  disquieted  about  our  front 
and  had  read  my  articles,  with  which  he  entirely  agreed. 
He  considered,  and  had  stated  at  the  War  Council,  that  our 
front  was  of  the  greatest  importance  and  that  it  lacked 
depth.  He  knew  that  our  infantry  would  be  one-fourth  down 
this  year,  and  that  drafts  were  lacking  to  fill  up  divisions. 
He  said  that  the  figures  had  been  brought  out  at  the  Council, 
and  that  L.  G.  had  been  exceedingly  taken  to  task  and 
roughly  handled,  but  that  he  had  refused  to  give  any  satis- 
faction, and  had  entrenched  himself  behind  the  plea  of  the 
danger  of  social  revolution,  and  had  stopped  the  discussion. 
Resulted,  zero.  Petain  had  studied  him  closely  and  summed 
up  his  opinion  of  him  in  a  curt  and  striking  phrase.  Petain 
thought  the  Aleppo  expedition  fatuity,  and  said  that 
Clemenceau  had  been  splendid  and  had  cut  L.  G.'s  arguments 
to  ribbons.  On  the  question  of  the  Higher  Command, 
Petain  said  that  he  did  not  mean  to  allow  Foch  and  Co.  to 
interfere  with  his  reserves.  If  they  liked  to  handle  the 
Anglo-French  divisions  in  Italy  this  was  another  matter, 
but  I  said  that  their  ambitions  went  much  further,  where- 
upon Petain  said  that  if  they  interfered  with  him  he  would 
not  remain  in  command.  He  was  sure  that  Haig  and  he 
would  agree  and  could  carry  on.  He  required  another 
month  to  perfect  his  defences,  and  Haig  three  months.  He 
doubted  whether  the  Boches  would  wait.  He  had  identified 
172  divisions  for  certain  on  his  front,  and  there  were  15 
more  divisions  in  Germany  training  and  ready  to  come  up 
when  they  were  needed.     Petain  was  down  to  100  divisions, 


1918]  PETAIN'S  VIEWS  223 

as  he  told  me  he  would  be  last  October,  and  was  calling  in 
all  the  men  he  could  find  in  every  quarter.  There  were  no 
certain  indications  of  the  German  plans,  but  he  supposed 
that  they  would  make  two  great  attacks,  and  then  the 
reserves  would  be  put  in  according  to  circumstances.  He 
thought  that  220  divisions  in  all  might  come  against  us. 
The  Germans,  he  said,  had  attacked  the  weak  points  when 
they  were  not  powerful  enough  to  attack  the  strong  ones, 
but  now  this  situation  had  changed,  and  people  ought  to 
understand  it.  We  should  have  a  hard  time,  and  he  would 
regard  L.  G.  as  the  author  of  our  misfortunes  if  we  failed. 
He  thought  my  article  very  courageous,  and  was  much 
astonished  that  Gwynne  had  risked  evading  the  Gensor- 
ship. 

He  also,  at  my  request,  told  me  how  he  had  restored  the 
moral  of  his  Armies  in  June  1917.  He  had  personally 
visited  every  division,  had  spoken  to  the  officers  and  pointed 
out  their  duties  to  them.  He  had  instituted  a  regular 
system  of  leave  for  the  men,  and  had  done  much  for  their 
material  welfare.  It  had  taken  him  two  months  to  restore 
the  moral,  and  a  very  dangerous  moment  had  at  last  been 
successfully  passed  over. 

Petain  also  pointed  out  to  me  that  the  most  he  could 
accept  was  that  the  Franoo-British  divisions  in  Italy  should 
be  the  reserves  under  Versailles,  and  that  an  equivalent 
number  of  Italian  divisions  should  be  added.  He  said 
that  Foch  is  still  anxious  to  deliver  a  great  counter-attack 
with  massed  reserves,  but  that  this  was  now  impracticable, 
and  we  had  only  enough  to  fill  up  the  gaps,  if  we  had  even 
that.  He  pointed  out  to  me  the  different  position  of  the 
combatants,  with  the  Germans  able  to  repair  their  losses 
and  we  unable.  He  attributed  all  our  troubles  to  two  men, 
whom  he  named. 

General  Anthoine  is  now  Chief  of  Staff  to  Petain.  A 
good,  cheery,  capable  officer,  much  attached  to  Haig, 
under  whom  he  has  served.  An  important  fact  if  Petain 
and  II  e  lefl  alone  to  \\<>ii<  <>ut  their  own  BalvEtion 

and  ours. 


224   THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

Thursday y  Feb.  7.  Put  up  at  the  Palace  Hotel  last  night. 
Breakfasted  with  Give  and  the  English  Mission.  We 
had  some  talk  about  the  War  Council.  He  told  me  that 
one  of  President  Poincare's  Staff  had  just  come  in  and  had 
been  very  critical  of  the  arrangement,  declaring  that  it  was 
no  solution,  as  indeed  is  true.  I  went  on  to  the  2nd  Bureau 
to  see  Colonel  de  Cointet,  who  was  very  severe  upon  us  for 
our  failure  to  keep  up  our  strengths.  He  says  that  177 
Boche  divisions  are  now  identified  in  the  West,  and  allows 
that  an  uncertain  number  are  reorganising  in  Germany. 
He  expects  200  to  220,  and  believes  that  from  Feb.  15 
onwards  the  danger  will  be  very  real.  The  French  have 
dug  in,  but  we  have  not.  He  expects  various  feints,  and 
then  the  big  thing  on  the  Rheims  front  against  the  French, 
and  on  the  Arras  front  against  us.  He  puts  down  the  Boches 
at  3,000,000  in  the  aggregate,  and  their  potential  reserves, 
which  may  be  expended  during  the  year,  at  1,500,000. 
A  pretty  good  packet,  and  this  wretched  Premier  of  ours 
only  talks  of  social  revolutions,  and  will  not  even  ask  the 
country  for  the  men  we  need  or  tell  it  why  we  need  them. 
De  Cointet  says  that  there  is  a  talk  of  two  Austrian  divisions 
coming,  but  he  does  not  think  much  of  them,  and  only 
believes  in  Austrian  guns.  He  considers  our  front  ex- 
tremely important,  as  Petain  does. 

He  says  that  the  Boches  sent  divisions  to  Italy  last 
October  in  response  to  a  cry  for  help  from  the  Austrians, 
who  had  expected  that  all  our  troops  going  to  Salonika 
and  Palestine  were  coming  against  them.  As  they  were 
there,  they  cut  a  dash  and  knocked  out  the  Italians,  but 
no  one  was  more  surprised  than  the  Germans,  and  no  plans 
were  ready  for  following  up  the  success.  De  Cointet  says 
that  we  Allies  have  20  more  divisions  in  Italy  than  the 
Austrians.  Most  of  Von  Below's  Army  from  Italy  is  now 
in  France,  and  three  of  its  divisions  have  been  identified. 
Also  Von  Hutier's  7th  Army  from  Riga  has  turned  up  on 
Gough's  front.  The  importance  of  this  fact  needs  no 
demonstration.     The  French  Armies,  from  left  to  right,  are 


1918]  GENERAL  LEMAN  225 

the  6th,  5th,  4th,  2nd,  1st,  and  7th.  Franchet  d'Esperey  x 
commands  the  left  group,  and  de  Castelnau  the  right 
group.  The  3rd  Army  is  now  in  reserve,  and,  in  all,  Petain 
has  39  divisions  in  reserve,  which  cannot  be  employed 
without  his  permission. 

I  read  the  new  French  text-books  on  the  offensive  and 
the  defensive.  Very  modern,  well  written,  and  up  to  date. 
I  was  particularly  struck  with  the  division  of  the  troops 
on  the  defensive  into  (1)  Troupes  de  garde  and  garnisons  de 
surete  for  the  first  lines  ;  (2)  Troupes  de  soutien  for  precise 
missions  of  immediate  counter-attack ;  (3)  Troupes  dis- 
ponibhs  ou  reservees  ready  for  contre-attaques  d' ensemble  or 
counter-attacks  requiring  preparatory  actions  and  the 
accompaniment  of  artillery.  If  the  Versailles  pack  are 
allowed  to  deprive  Haig  and  Petain  of  No.  3,  what  chances 
have  they  ?  I  notice  the  most  ludicrously  false  and  mis- 
leading assertions  about  the  War  Council  in  the  Times. 

Motored  back  to  Paris.  Lunched  with  Bobby  Ward 
and  Le  Roy.  Ward  was  heavily  bombed  in  Padua  the 
night  he  was  there.  Lieut.  Hermann  called.  He  was  too 
inquisitive,  and  I  did  not  say  much  to  him  in  consequence. 
Went  to  tea  at  the  Rue  d'Astorg  and  met  General  Leman, 
the  hero  of  Liege.  A  most  striking  but  much  bent  figure, 
as  of  one  who  has  suffered,  with  courtly  manners,  and 
great  nobility  of  character.  He  gave  us  many  of  his  ex- 
periences, and  a  large  party  sat  round  and  listened.  Jules 
Roche  told  me  that  L.  G.  was  returning  to-morrow  to  draw 
closer  the  links,  whatever  that  may  mean,  but  I  can  get  no 
confirmation  of  it.  I  hear  that  L.  G.  means  to  put  Milner 
into  the  W.O.  in  place  of  Derby,  in  which  case  Robertson 
is  nearly  sure  to  bo  evicted,  and  the  first  measure  is  to  be 
the  reduction  of  his  power  and  the  issue  of  orders  through 
the  B.  of  8.  instead  of  the  C.I.G.S.  We  shall  then  have 
completed  our  plans  to  lose  the  war. 

Dmowski  dined  with  mo,  and   we   talked  Poland  alone 

1  Known  to  OUT  loldien  La  the  East,  ]at  a  I  later  Jdato,  aa  (Desperate 
Franky. 


226    THE  WAR  COUNCIL  OF  FEBRUARY  1918 

before  dinner  and  then  at  dinner.  He  expects  a  revolu- 
tion in  Austria  by  May.  He  is  President  of  the  Polish 
Society,  consisting  of  six  or  eight  persons  who  are,  he  says, 
recognised  by  the  Governments  of  England,  France,  Italy, 
and  the  U.S.,  as  the  official  spokesmen  of  Poland.  He 
brought  me  his  privately  printed  book  on  the  problems  of 
Austria  and  Eastern  Europe,  and  it  looks  interesting.  The 
Poles  desire  our  sympathy  and  practical  support .  Dmowski 
says  that  the  war  can  only  be  won  by  breaking  up  Austria 
and  recognising  the  independence  of  her  various  nation- 
alities. Then  Germany  will  be  isolated  and  her  road  to 
the  East  cut.  But,  he  says,  most  people  here  still  think 
that  in  Austria  people  speak  Austrian,  and  it  is  not  a  ques- 
tion whether  diplomacy  is  bad,  but  whether  it  is  null. 

Le  Roy,  who  was  also  dining  with  me,  told  the  story  that 
Briand  had  narrated  to  us  the  other  day  at  lunch,  namely, 
of  the  Caillaux  secret  papers  in  the  Florence  safe  marked 
'  Rubicon.'  Briand  had  reminded  us  that  before  the  third 
Napoleon's  coup  d'etat  of  December,  he  and  Morny  and 
Persigny  had  solemnly  opened  the  casket  in  which  the  plan 
was  concealed,  and  the  papers  taken  out  were  also  marked 
'  Rubicon.'  This  led  us  to  note  the  imitative  habits  of  our 
time,  and  to  discuss  how  much  we  draw  from  within  our- 
selves, and  how  much  from  outside  sources.  Dmowski  had 
been  a  member  of  the  Duma  at  the  time  of  the  Russian 
revolution,  and  told  us  that  the  members  used  to  go  to  the 
library,  cut  out  the  speeches  of  Mirabeau  and  Danton,  and 
come  back  and  spout  them  in  the  Duma.  I  thought  that 
Mirabeau  and  Co.  also  drew  their  speeches  largely  from  the 
classics,  so  it  came  to  this,  that  there  was  nothing  new 
under  the  sun,  and  that  we  were  a  race  of  monkeys. 

Dmowski  is  an  observant  person.  I  enjoyed  his  saying 
that  Seton-Watson  had  the  spirit  of  a  midwife  ;  he  cared 
nothing  for  people  who  existed,  but  only  for  new  nation- 
alities which  he  could  bring  forward  in  his  own  hands  and 
present  to  the  world. 

Left  for  London,  11.40  p.m.  Bobby  Ward  gave  me  a 
berth  again.     A  friend  in  need.    All  the  other  berths  taken. 


1918]  GENERAL  PEYTON  MARCH  227 

It  has  turned  wet.  I  met  General  Peyton  March  on  board, 
the  new  acting  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  American  Army,  a  tall, 
rather  grim,  and  soldierlike  man  resembling  the  typical 
Uncle  Sam.  No  cabin  had  been  kept  for  him,  so  I  invited 
him  and  his  A.D.C.  to  share  mine.  We  had  a  good  talk. 
I  was  glad  to  hear  that  they  had  adopted  the  French 
sv.-tein  of  four  bureaus  at  Pershing's  Headquarters,  instead 
of  the  impossible  system  which  prevailed  when  I  was  there 
last.  Now  Pershing  will  be  free  to  control  operations 
instead  of  being  immersed  in  administrative  details  as  he 
was  formerly.  General  March  has  been  here  since  July 
last.  He  should  be  of  great  use  to  the  President.  He 
told  me  that  he  was  coming  back  again,  and  I  am  glad,  as 
he  is  a  fine  type.  He  also  told  me  that  if  President  Wilson 
thought  it  wise  to  come  to  Europe  he  would  come  in  spite 
of  all  the  constitutional  lawyers  who  might  declare  that  he 
could  not  come. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

Return  to  London — My  article  on  the  War  Council — The  Tories  and 
Mr.  Lloyd  George — Summoned  to  Bow  Street — The  case  part  heard — 
Dismissal  of  Sir  W.  Robertson — The  hearing  concluded — Shoals  of 
letters  of  approval  and  sympathy — General  Robertson  on  these 
events — A  letter  from  General  Allenby — The  Blind  Officers'  Home — 
Visit  to  Ugbrooke  Park — Sir  F.  E.  Smith  on  America — Mr.  Arthur 
Henderson's  views — Bombs  and  parties — Admiral  Sims  on  the 
U-boats — General  Dessino's  uninvited  guests — Sir  W.  Robertson  on 
the  late  War  Council — Conversation  with  Mr.  Asquith  on  the  military 
situation,  March  16 — Another  talk  with  Mr.  Arthur  Henderson. 

Saturday,  Feb.  9.  Met  Gwynne  at  the  Bath  Club.  We 
compared  notes  and  experiences.  After  I  had  told  him 
what  I  had  learned,  he  told  me  that  there  was  a  big  row  on 
here,  and  that  he  hoped  the  Army  Council  were  all  going 
to  stand  firm.  Asquith  has  stated  that  he  will  speak  on 
the  debate  on  the  Address  next  Tuesday,  and  Gwynne  and 
I  agreed  that  I  should  write  and  expose  the  Paris  pro- 
ceedings either  Monday  or  Tuesday.  Gwynne  is  going  to 
see  Derby  and  try  to  hearten  him  up,  and  is  all  for  fight- 
ing this  matter  out.  Asquith  says  that  the  war  can  only 
end  by  fighting,  negotiation,  or  by  the  proletariat  making 
an  end  of  it,  and  he  still  believes  that  it  can  be  won  by 
fighting. 

Sunday,  Feb.  10.  Finished  an  article  on  the  late  War 
Council  and  sent  it  off.  I  hear  that  Lady  Bat  hurst  says 
that  she  will  be  quite  content  to  be  locked  up  with  us. 

Monday,  Feb.  11.  This  morning  there  came  out  my 
article  on  the  Versailles  War  Council,  describing  what  had 
happened  about  the  three  main  subjects  discussed.     The 

228 


1918]  MY  ARTICLE  ON  THE  WAR  COUNCIL   229 

Post  has  a  good  leader  on  it.  Great  pluck  on  Gwynne's 
part  to  insert  it.  Lunched  with  Lady  X.,  and  had  a  good 
talk  to  her  about  Derby,  telling  her  that  he  was  the 
appointed  victim  of  the  Downing  Street  Camarilla,  when 
Robertson  was  removed,  and  that  if  the  Army  Council 
did  not  stick  together  he  would  regret  it.  I  said  that 
Milner  was  to  succeed  him,  and  that  if  Derby  went  with 
the  whole  Arniy  Council  over  a  matter  of  principle  he 
would  stand  high,  whereas  if  he  let  R.  be  sacrificed  and 
staved  on,  he  would  be  put  out  in  a  fortnight  amidst 
general  derision.  She  is  to  speak  to  him  this  evening. 
Went  on  to  the  Morning  Post  and  saw  Gwynne.  The 
Censor  refused  my  article,  so  Gwynne  made  certain 
changes  in  it  and  wrote  to  the  Censor  that  he  hoped  he 
had  met  their  views.  Actually  he  had  not  changed  much. 
What  will  happen  now  is  not  clear.  Anyhow  it  is  some- 
thing for  us  not  to  be  in  prison  after  our  indiscipline  this 
morning,  but  as  we  acted  solely  in  the  public  interest  I 
suppose  that  we  shall  be  all  right  in  the  end. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  12.  Met  a  friendly  M.P.  at  a  club,  and 
found  him  as  determined  to  take  the  gloves  off  as  we 
are.  He  was  at  G.H.Q.  last  Sunday.  He  tells  me  that 
the  Unionists'  War  Committee  in  the  Commons  passed 
strong  resolutions  warmly  condemning  the  attacks  on  the 
generals,  and  forbidding  L.  G.  to  take  Winston  into  the 
War  Cabinet.  L.  G.  fumed  and  resented  the  interference  of 
any  party  in  the  House,  whereupon  Salisbury,  who  took 
the  resolutions  to  L.  G.,  gently  pointed  out  to  L.  G.  that 
he  owed  his  position  to  Unionist  support.  L.  G.  declared 
that  he  utterly  disapproved  the  attacks  on  the  generals,  in 
which  case  it  is  a  pity  that  he  did  not  say  so  before,  during 
all  the  months  that  these  attacks  have  been  proceeding. 
My  friend  says  that  L.  G.  has  tried  them  very  highly  on 
previous  occasions,  and  he  promises  me  to  get  his  friends 
together  and  to  support  me  in  the  debate.  I  gave  him, 
again,  the  main  points  for  L.  G.  to  answer.  Met  Gwynne 
later.  Be  says  that  Derby  has  been  dining  and  breakfasting 
with  L.  G.,  and  is  most  shaky.     Nothing  frum  Lady  X.,  but 


23o     THE  MORNING  POST  PKOSECUTION 

the  Post  leader  this  morning  tells  Derby  plainly  that  unless 
he  stands  up  for  the  Army  Council  he  will  be  discredited  for 
ever,  and  this  is  the  truth.  Lunched  with  Lockett,  who 
promises  to  bail  me  out  if  I  am  arrested,  and  to  arrange  for 
my  defence.  I  took  my  Memoirs  to  Constable,  and  they 
will  now  read  them  through  and  advise  me.  The  Manchester 
Dispatch  reported  this  morning  that  I  had  been  arrested. 
The  Times  almost  insinuated  this  morning  that  I  ought  to 
be.  Gwynne  and  I  are  quite  content  to  stand  the  racket, 
and  agree  that  we  have  done  all  that  we  can  to  enlighten  the 
country  and  save  the  Army  from  defeat,  and  that  we  can 
now  only  calmly  abide  the  result.  I  heard  to-day  from 
some  one  that  Haig  says  he  is  not  worrying  much  about  his 
reserves  as  he  has  not  got  any.  In  the  late  afternoon  there 
arrived  at  Maryon  two  Scotland  Yard  men  to  inquire  whether 
I  had  written  my  article  in  the  Post  of  Feb.  11.  I  gave 
them  the  particulars.  Evidently  the  Government  are  going 
to  prosecute. 

Wednesday,  Feb.  13.  Lunched  with  the  Ian  Hamiltons, 
and  then  I  sat  on  a  Tribunal  all  the  afternoon.  On  my 
return  home  I  found  that  the  police  had  been  after  me  again, 
as  they  had  been  after  Gwynne,  and  they  came  in  later  with 
two  summonses  for  me  to  appear  at  Bow  Street  before  a 
magistrate  next  Saturday,  the  charges  being  that  I  pub- 
lished information  regarding  '  plans  and  conduct  of  military 
operations '  and  '  military  dispositions,'  all  of  which  accusa- 
tions are  false.  Dined  with  the  Londonderrys,  who  were 
very  nice  to  me.  Princess  Helena,  Lady  Massereene,  and 
one  or  two  more.  A  very  pleasant  talk.  C.  wishes  me  to 
defend  myself,  and  I  should  prefer  to  do  so. 

Thursday,  Feb.  14.  Nearly  all  day  with  the  lawyers. 
Gave  Mi".  Poole,  of  Messrs.  Lewis  and  Lewis,  10  Ely  Place, 
Holborn,  all  my  story  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  afternoon 
Gwynne  and  I,  with  Poole,  met  Mr.  Tindal  Atkinson,  K.C.,  at 
his  chambers,  and  with  him,  as  junior  counsel,  was  Mr.  Patrick 
Hastings,  a  very  smart  young  barrister.  We  went  through 
the  case,  making  out  all  the  worst  features  of  it, — as  I  believe 
counsel  do — and  I  was  so  disgusted  that  I  told  Gwynne  when 


1918]  AT  BOW  STREET  231 

ITB  walked  away  together  that  I  would  much  rather  defend 
myself,  that  one  might  as  well  be  hanged  for  a  sheep  as  a 
lamb,  and  that  if  I  had  to  be  convicted  T  wished  to  tell  the 
country  the  whole  truth  in  court  and  not  mince  matters. 
Telephoned  the  same  thing  to  Poole  in  the  evening,  and  he 
tried  to  dissuade  me. 

/•'  iday,  F>h.  15.  Poor  dear  old  Lockett  Agnew  died  this 
morning  after  a  very  sharp  attack  of  angina  pectoris.  A 
great  character,  honest  as  the  day,  always  buoyant  in  spirits, 
the  first  expert  in  the  art  world,  and  the  kindest  and  best 
soul  imaginable.  I  am  so  sorry  for  Joe.  Lunched  with 
A.,  who  is  all  for  me  to  defend  myself  and  to  take  the 
big  line  of  the  freedom  of  political  criticism.  In  the  after- 
noon at  Tindal  Atkinson's  again.  I  had  written  down  the 
line  I  wished  to  take  and  read  it  out.  The  lawyers  were  now 
more  alive  to  the  situation,  and  Poole  thinks  that  we  have 
an  even-money  chance.  Gwynne  begs  me  to  leave  all  the 
defence  to  Atkinson,  who  is  a  fine-looking  and  distinguished 
man  with  a  good  presence,  so  I  felt  bound  to  agree,  as  the 
Post's  interests  have  to  be  considered  ;  but  I  only  agreed 
reluctantly. 

Saturday,  Feb.  16.  Went  to  Bow  Street  with  Gwynne 
at  11.30.  We  were  snapshotted  by  the  cameras  all  the  way. 
Pat  Guthrie  is  told  that  there  has  been  *  no  such  crowd  at 
Bow  Street  since  Crippen  ' — the  famous  murderer  !  There 
came  to  look  on  a  great  number  of  friends  and  many 
ladies.  There  were  fifty  shorthand  reporters.  Sir  Gordon 
Bewart  presented  the  case  for  the  prosecution.  He  is 
Solicitor-General,  and  was  very  moderate  and  courteous 
in  his  speech,  making  his  points  well.  The  Director  of 
the  Presfl  Bureau,  Sir  E.  T.  Cook,  gave  evidence.  We 
adjourned  at  12.40  till  Thursday  next,  and  were  again 
pursued  by  the  camera  men  as  we  left.  An  air  raid  alter 
dinner,  and  it  went  on  till  nearly  11  p.m. 

Sunday,  V(h.  17.  The  news  that  Sir  William  Robertson 
hae  been  practically  dismissed  caused  me  lo  write  an  appre- 
ri;itiv<   article  on  pis  Palpable  services.    Then  went  on  to 

the  Reform  Club  and  had  an  hour  with  Mr.  Massingham   to 


232     THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 


exchange  ideas.  Dined  with  Lord  Wimborne  in  Arlington 
Street  and  found  Freddy  Guest,  Lord  D'Abernon,  Massing- 
ham  again,  Lady  Gwendeline  and  Jack  Churchill,  Miss 
Phyllis  Boyd,  Mrs.  Montagu,  and  Lady  Diana  Manners — four 
attractive  ladies.  Mrs.  M.  hopes  that  M.  will  be  home  from 
India  by  April.  The  party  discussed  my  case  and  gave  me 
some  valuable  hints.  As  we  were  finishing  dinner  another 
air  raid  began,  and  W.  made  us  all  adjourn  to  a  vaulted 
chamber  below,  where  we  remained  till  the  worst  was  over. 
We  amused  ourselves  in  forming  a  Cabinet  of  ladies,  as  all 
the  political  males  appeared  to  us  to  be  exhausted.  Here 
they  are  : — 


Prime  Minister 
Foreign  Secretary    . 
War  Secretary 
First  Lady 

Home  Secretary 
Board  of  Good  Works 
Vice-Reine  of  India 
Propaganda    . 
Chancellor  of  Exchequer 
Financial  Secretary 
Board  of  Agriculture 


Board  of  Trade 

Lady  President  of  the  Council 


Minister  of  Blockade 
Secretary  for  India 
Secretary  for  the  Colonies 
Vice-Reine  of  Ireland 
Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland 
Local  Government  Board 
President,  the  Air  Board 
Mistress  of  the  Robes 
Secretary  for  Scotland 
Attorney-General    . 
Solicitor  General 
Minister  of  Munitions 


Lady  Desborough. 

Lady  Essex. 

Lady  Pembroke. 

Evelyn,  Marchioness  of  Down- 
shire. 

Mrs.  Winston  Churchill. 

Miss  Phyllis  Boyd. 

Lady  Diana  Manners. 

Lady  Cunard. 

Mrs.  George  Keppel. 

Mrs.  Ronald  Greville. 

Edith,  Marchioness  of  London- 
derry. 

Mrs.  McKenna. 

Millicent,  Duchess  of  Suther- 
land. 

Lady  Ridley. 

Mrs.  Montagu. 

Lady  Gwendeline  Churchill. 

Lady  Wimborne. 

Lady  Carson. 

The  Duchess  of  Marlborough. 

Lady  Drogheda. 

Mrs.  John  Astor. 

Lady  Mar  and  Kellie. 

Miss  Beatrice  Mattheson. 

Miss  Joan  Poynder. 

Lady  Granard. 


1918]  A  CABINET  OF  LADIES  233 


President,  Board  of  Education 
Lady  Chancellor    . 
Mistress  of  the  Ceremonies 
Minister  of  Health 
Postmistress-General 
Chancellor  of  the  Duchy 
Leader  of  the  Opposition 


Miss  Violetta  Thurstan. 
Mrs.  Alfred  Lyttelton. 
Lady  Wolverton. 
Lady  D'Abernon. 
Lady  Ljiiton. 
Lady  Islington. 
Mrs.  Asquith. 


Some  of  the  ladies  refused  to  serve  with  others,  but  we 
ignored  their  protests.  Lady  Diana  would  go  to  India 
because  she  had  fair  hair,  and  for  the  sake  of  contrast. 
Got  home  after  a  crush  in  the  Tube.  The  platforms  five 
deep  with  women  and  children  taking  refuge,  and  some 
five  more  rows  standing,  largely  men. 

Monday,  Feb.  18.  Wrote  my  remarks  on  the  Solicitor- 
General's  speech  and  sent  them  off  to  Mr.  Poole.  Lunched 
with  Mrs.  Ronny  Greville  and  walked  round  with  her  to  see 
1  The  Pattisson  Children,'  by  Lawrence,  at  Bond  Street — 
a  fine  thing.  A  pleasant  talk  at  lunch.  Robertson's 
resignation  is  denied  by  him,  but  in  the  evening  it  is  an- 
nounced that  he  has  taken  the  Eastern  Command.  The 
promise  of  a  big  row  in  Parliament  is  therefore  not  likely 
to  be  kept. 

Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  Feb.  19-20.  Much  time  spent 
with  the  barristers  and  lawyers  preparing  our  case  for 
Thursday.  Atkinson  is  warming  up.  Poole  and  Hastings 
very  good  and  helpful.  Many  letters  of  sympathy  and 
approval  from  all  sides.  L.  G.  explains  the  Versailles  plans 
to  the  Commons  and  gives  me  a  good  opening,  which  I  shall 
take  presently. 

Thursday,  Feb.  21.  At  Bow  Street  again.  Atkinson 
made  an  effective  speech  in  our  defence,  showing  clearly  that 
we  had  not  contravened  the  regulations,  and  that  all  I 
had  said  was  in  the  German  and  other  foreign  Press  before 
I  had  Baid  it.  The  magistrate  fined  us  each  £100  and  costs, 
for  the  technical  offence  of  disobeying  the  Censorship.  But 
we  stated  our  case  vi  ry  plainly,  and  all  the  papers  an-  full 
of  it.  A  great  many  people  came  to  look  on.  Many 
messages  of  congratulation  in  the  evening. 


234     THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

Friday,  Feb.  22.  Masses  of  cuttings  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  about  our  case,  and  I  have  not  yet  seen  one  word 
of  hostile  comment.  The  letters  of  approval  of  our  attitude 
continue  to  flow  in.  Dined  with  Lady  Drogheda  and  Lady 
Paget  at  Claridge's,  and  went  to  see  an  amusing  American 
play  called  The  Whole  Truth,  which  kept  the  house  in  roars 
of  laughter.     Sir  Vincent  Caillard  joined  us  there. 

Sunday,  Feb.  24.  General  Sir  F.  Maurice  writes  that  he 
is  ordered  not  to  talk  with  me  about  the  war,  but  says,  '  I 
have  the  greatest  admiration  for  your  courage  and  deter- 
mination, and  am  quite  clear  that  you  have  been  the  victim 
of  political  persecution  such  as  I  did  not  think  was  possible 
in  England.'  I  write  a  stiff  criticism  of  L.  G.'s  explanation  in 
the  Commons  last  Tuesday  of  the  Versailles  decisions .  Dined 
with  Belle  Herbert  and  her  two  boys  Sidney  and  Michael, 
and  Juliet  Duff,  in  Carlton  House  Terrace.  A  very  pleasant 
evening.  They  screamed  over  my  story  of  Robertson's 
remark  that  he  and  I  '  could  no  more  afford  to  be  seen  to- 
gether just  now  than  we  could  afford  to  be  seen  walking 
down  Regent  Street  with  a  whore  !  '  Another  story  of  the 
umbrella  which  R.'s  private  secretary  gave  him  on  his 
birthday.  '  Umph  ! '  said  R.,  '  very  nice.  I  suppose  that 
Jellicoe  is  using  his  now,  isn't  he  ?  ' 

Monday,  Feb.  25.  Lunched  at  the  Ian  Hamiltons'.  They 
say  that  if  R.  had  asked  for  48  hours  to  reflect  before  he 
accepted  the  Eastern  Command,  Derby  would  have  been 
out  of  office.  R.  is  away.  Met  Lady  Kitty  Somerset,  who 
declares  that  she  is  devoted  to  L.  G.,  and  I  said  that  he  was 
not  playing  the  game  by  the  Army  a  nd  the  generals .  Went 
on  to  see  Gwynne,  who  is  much  pleased  with  my  criticism 
of  L.  G.'s  last  speech.  It  will  appear  in  a  day  or  two. 
Gwynne  agrees  with  me  that  we  should  then  suspend  criticism, 
having  done  all  in  our  power  to  alter  things  regarding  ( 1 )  the 
command,  (2)  effectives,  and  (3)  the  side-shows.  We  think 
that,  journalistically,  we  shall  stand  in  a  very  strong  position 
during  the  approaching  campaign.  Plumer  is  coming  back 
from  Italy  to  take  over  his  old  2nd  Army.  Cavan  takes 
his  place  in  Italy.     Rawly's  4th  Army  is  to  be  absorbed. 


1918]  NO  PRIME  MINISTER  INDISPENSABLE  235 

Gwynne  has  shoals  of  letters,  all  approving  of  our  action, 
and  several  people  offer  to  pay  our  fines,  showing  their 
practical  sympathy.  Lady  Bathurst  writes  that  she  heartily 
approves  of  all  that  we  have  done.  She  has  been  quite 
splendid  in  all  this  affair,  and  so  has  Lord  Bathurst. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  20.  Got  through  all  my  letters  thanking 
sympathisers.  Wrote  an  article  on  '  The  Russian  Tragedy.' 
The  Germans  are  invading  from  Dvinsk  towards  Petro- 
grad,  and  meeting  with  little  resistance,  while  they 
arc  also  joining  hands  with  the  Ukraine  in  the  South, 
with  the  double  advantage  of  smashing  Bolshevism  and 
getting  bread.  The  cause  of  the  Entente  in  Russia  is 
hopelessly  compromised,  and  poor  Poland  is  in  a  terrible 
situation.  Such  is  the  inevitable  result  of  the  lunatic 
revolution  and  the  anarchy  which  it  has  brought  in  its  train. 
Lunched  with  Mrs.  George  Keppel ;  Violet  and  Sonia,  Lady 
Randolph,  Mr.  McKenna,  Lords  Ribblesdale,  Lurgan,  and 
Hchester,  and  a  few  more.  Lady  Randolph  and  I  agree 
that  if  we  began  again  at  17  we  should  do  the  same  as  we  had 
done,  only  more  so.  Then  we  decided  that  we  could  not 
have  done  more  so  if  we  had  tried.  Violet  very  good  com- 
pany. 

Dined  in  the  evening  with  theMaguires  in  Cleveland  Square, 
and  found  Lady  Edmund  Talbot,  Lord  Peel,  Mrs.  Ronny 
Greville,  Lord  Lamington,  Mrs.  Keppel,  and  others.  Mrs. 
Maguire  told  me  that  a  lot  of  the  War  Cabinet  had  come  in  the 
evening  before  the  last  debate,  all  abusing  me  and  expecting 
to  be  upset.  They  had  evidently  told  her  that  Clemenceau 
had  talked  to  me.  I  spoke  freely  about  my  case  and  criti- 
cised the  Government  hotly.  Peel  said,  to-night,  that  in  the 
case  of  every  Prime  Minister  in  recent  years  it  had  been  said 
that  he  could  not  be  replaced,  as  it  is  said  now,  and  that  t lie 
change  was  always  quite  easy.  Of  no  one  was  it  said  more 
than  of  Sir  Jl.  Campbell-Bannerman,  and  few  people  now 
remembered  that  he  had  been  Prime  Mini  hi  at  all.  Maguire 
alflO  laid  thai  he  supposed  t  hat  Milner  and  Curzon  remained 
in  office  under  L.  G.  from  an  exaggerated  estimate  of  their 
own  important  e. 

VOL.  II.  B 


236     THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

A  letter  from  Robertson,  who  is  in  the  country  for  another 

week  : — 

25th  February  1918. 

My  dear  Repington, — I  shall  return  to  London  in  about  a 
week's  time,  after  which  I  shall  have  a  good  deal  of  inspection 
work  to  do,  but  I  will  not  fail  to  arrange  a  talk  with  you.  My 
present  feelings  are  that  I  am  more  or  less  retired  from  the  Public 
Service,  except  so  far  as  my  own  particular  Command  is  con- 
cerned. I  am  heartily  sick  of  the  whole  sordid  business  of  the 
past  month.  Like  yourself,  I  did  what  I  thought  was  best  in  the 
general  interests  of  the  Country,  and  the  result  has  been  exactly 
as  I  expected  would  be  the  case.  I  am  in  no  way  surprised  at  the 
turn  events  have  taken,  in  fact  I  felt  sure  from  the  first  that  they 
would  be  as  they  have  proved  to  be.  The  Country  has  just  as 
good  a  Government  as  it  deserves  to  have.  I  feel  that  your 
sacrifice  has  been  great,  and  that  you  have  a  difficult  time  in 
front  of  you.  But  the  great  thing  is  to  keep  on  a  straight  course, 
and  then  one  may  be  sure  that  good  will  eventually  come  out  of 
what  may  now  seem  to  be  evil. — Yours  very  truly, 

W.  Robertson. 

A  letter  from  Allenby  of  some  interest,  particularly  the 
end  of  it,  in  which  he  answers  a  question  of  mine  : — 

General  Headquarters, 

Egyptian  Expeditionary  Force, 

Uh  February  1918. 

My  dear  Repington, — I  was  very  pleased  to  get  your  letter 
of  18th  Deer.,  and  I  thank  you  for  your  congratulations  and  good 
wishes. 

I  was  deeply  interested  in  your  summary  of  affairs  in  Europe. 
Things  there  seem  not  to  be  as  cheerful  as  could  be  wished.  But 
I  feel  confident  that  we  shall  keep  our  end  up  till  the  Americans 
can  pull  their  weight.  Here,  we  are  in  the  wet  season  ;  during 
which  there  falls,  in  four  months,  as  much  rain  as  falls  in  Eng- 
land in  twelve.  My  roads  and  railways,  shaky  at  the  best,  can't 
stand  all  that  rain  ;  and  I  am  busied  with  their  development 
and  repair,  as  my  subsistence  depends  on  their  work. 

Meanwhile,  I  am  consolidating  and  improving  my  positions 
N.  of  Jerusalem  and  Jaffa.  Later,  I  may  undertake  something 
bigger,  if  it  fits  in  with  general  policy.     The  Turk  is  not  aggres- 


1918]  ALLENBY  ON  THE  WEST  237 

sive.  He  is  digging  in,  on  the  line  Tul-Keran-Nablus.  I  don't 
think  he  has  much  over  30,000  men  cm  the  line  from  the  sea,  W. 
of  Tul-Keran  and  Jericho.  Germans,  to  the  extent  of  one  regi- 
ment of  three  battalions,  and  some  half  dozen  batteries,  are  in 
thi-<  country  and  on  that  line  ;  but  I  don't  believe  that  the  two 
German  divisions  exist.  I  fancy  that  they  are  only  muck. 
The  Turks  talk  a  lot  about  retaking  Jerusalem,  but  they  want 
the  Germans  to  do  it  for  them,  and  I  imagine  that  the  Germans 
will  not  commit  many  troops  to  that  enterprise  at  present.  They 
will  probably  confine  themselves  to  the  defence  of  Damascus. 
The  Turks  made  a  determined  effort  to  retake  Jerusalem  on  the 
27th  Deer.,  and  subsequent  days  ;  and  we  gave  them  a  terrible 
hammering,  driving  them  back  seven  miles  and  more,  and  con- 
solidating our  positions  (N.  of  Birch).  We  buried  more  than 
1000  of  their  dead,  and  took  700  prisoners.  As  regards  opera- 
tions in  this  theatre,  balanced  against  those  in  the  West, 
I  recognise  that  the  West  is  the  essential  battle-ground,  where 
victory  will  be  decisive.  Make  sure  of  victory  there.  If,  how- 
ever, you  undertake  further  operations  here  and  in  Mesopotamia, 
they  must  be  carried  out  with  adequate  forces.  A  set-back  here, 
now,  would  be  disastrous  ;  and,  whatever  strategical  purists 
ma}-  say,  if  Egypt  were  lost,  the  link  that  binds  the  East  to  the 
West  is  snapped — probably  for  ever. — Ever  yours, 

Edmund  Allenby. 

\Y(dn(.«lay,  Feb.  27.  Lunched  with  Mrs.  Aator,  Sir 
Campbell  Stewart,  and  Mrs.  Cecil  Higgins  ;  enjoyable  as 
always.  Was  to  have  dined  at  Lady  Paget 's,  but  could  not 
manage  it.  D.  S.  MaoColl,  Keeper  of  the  Wallace  Collection, 
dined  at  Maryon,  and  we  had  a  pleasant  talk  in  the  evening. 

Thursday,  Feb.  28.  The  Censor  has  had  orders  from 
hie  masters  to  cut  out  political  criticism  from  my  article 
•  \'« irsaiUes  and  London/  and  Gwynne  is  objecting  strongly. 
Lunched  with  Lady  Juliet,  and  we  had  a  good  chat  about 
books,  people,  and  things.  She  has  decided  that  she  cannot 
tall  in  l<>\.  with  anybody  while  she  has  hospital  accounts  to 
,1,,.  and  I    aid  th<-  war  took  up  too  much  of  one'e  time  to 

l,.,v  enough  1<>  Batiefy  a   pietty  woman.      We  plan  a   little 

dinner,  with  Mi  .  A  tor  and  Genera]  Trenohard  to  join 
u.-.     Had  tea  with   Lady   X.  ai    her  fathers  house,  and 


238     THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

found  that  we  agreed  on  most  matters  connected  with 
present-day  politics.  Her  father  is  ready  to  give  up  his 
seat  to  a  mutual  friend  of  ours  in  certain  events. 

Dined  at  the  Blind  Officers'  Home,  21  Portland  Place, 
with  Sir  Arthur  Pearson  and  some  30  or  40  blind  officers. 
They  all  seemed  to  get  on  wonderfully  well  with  their  dimiers, 
and  quite  without  help.  The  conversation  was  just  as 
though  they  could  all  see,  and  Sir  Arthur  on  one  side  of  me 
and  a  Canadian  Colonel  on  the  other  were  very  agreeable. 
I  had  been  asked  to  talk  to  them  about  the  war  after  dinner, 
when  we  adjourned  into  a  comfortable  sitting-room.  I  was 
a  little  anxious  how  I  should  feel  with  30  or  40  pairs  of  sight- 
less eyes  directed  on  me,  and  thought  that  I  might  suffer 
from  stage-fright .  But  all  went  well,  and  I  took  them  round 
the  world  with  our  armies  and  fleets  and  told  them  the  posi- 
tion. Then  they  asked  many  questions,  and  I  answered 
to  the  best  of  my  ability.  A  most  agreeable  evening,  and 
they  seemed  to  be  a  charming  lot  of  fellows,  keenly  inter- 
ested in  all  that  was  going  on.  Sir  Arthur  told  me  that  the 
great  thing  was  to  keep  them  up  with  the  times,  and  that 
they  would  discuss  amongst  themselves  for  a  week  all  the 
points  that  I  had  raised.  He  thought  my  little  address  was 
ideal.  Derby,  Winston,  Auckland  Geddes,  and  the  Bishop 
of  London  had  been  amongst  the  guests  who  had  preceded 
me  in  former  weeks.  One  feels  the  deepest  compassion  for 
these  gallant  souls,  most  of  whom  are  in  the  flower  of  their 
youth,  and  I  promised  to  go  to  St.  Dunstan's  one  afternoon 
to  see  more  of  the  blind  cases. 

I  shall  go  away  for  a  few  days  to  Devonshire.  There  is 
nothing  more  that  I  can  do  except  to  watch  the  inevitable 
consequences  of  the  War  Cabinet's  folly  during  the  next 
few  months.  They  have  starved  the  Army  for  men,  have 
dispersed  our  military  resources  about  the  world,  and  now 
have  to  face  the  consequences  of  their  follies.  They  have 
dismissed  the  safest  guide  in  strategy  after  refusing  to  listen  to 
his  warnings,  and  they  have  prosecuted  me  for  showing  them 
up.  Upon  the  Army  and  the  country  will  fall  the  retribution 
which  Lloyd  George  and  his  War  Cabinet  alone  deserve. 


1918]  UGBROOKE  PARK  239 

Saturday  to  Tuesday,  March  2-5.  Wont  down  to  Ugbrooke 
Park,  Chudleigh,  Devon,  to  stay  with  Lady  Clifford.  A 
big  house  among  the  hills  and  dales,  not  beautiful  out- 
side, but  with  well-proportioned  rooms  and  a  great  deal  of 
handsome  furniture,  tapestries,  and  pictures.  A  pleasant 
party  there,  and  others  arrived  on  Monday.  We  had  a  good 
walk  over  the  hills  on  Sunday,  and  played  tennis  all  Monday. 
A  very  pleasant  rest.  Many  treasures  at  Ugbrooke — nearly 
all  old  family  tilings.  I  liked  the  Lelys  in  the  dining-room, 
especially  those  of  Catherine  of  Braganza  and  of  Monmouth. 
There  is  a  good  Lely  of  Thomas,  first  Lord  Clifford,  Charles 
n.'s  famous  Treasurer,  a  notable  and  active  personage 
as  we  learn  from  the  diaries  of  Pepys  and  Evelyn.  There 
are  some  Romneys,  a  Reynolds,  a  lot  of  interesting  old 
prints,  and  some  fine  silver.  The  picture  of  Fair  Rosamund, 
who  was  a  Clifford  and  Henry  n.'s  mistress,  interested  me. 
She  looks  like  an  under-housemaid,  but  I  hope,  for  the 
credit  of  Royal  taste,  that  the  artist  maligned  her.  There 
are  still  among  the  deer  in  the  park  some  of  the  '  white 
harts  of  Ugbrooke  '  of  which  Dryden  wrote.  The  place 
must  be  very  beautiful  in  the  summer. 

Wednesday,  March  6.  Wrote  an  article  for  Gwynne  on 
'  The  Western  Front.'  I  met  Will  Meredith  and  his  partner 
at  Constable's. 

Thursday,  March  7.  A  terrible  lot  of  correspondence. 
Letters  of  congratulation  and  sympathy  still  coming  in, 
and  more  offers  of  cheques  to  pay  for  my  defence.  I  have 
seen  no  hostile  criticism  at  all,  though  piles  of  cuttings 
come  to  me  from  all  the  Press  of  the  United  Kingdom. 
Lunched  with  two  friends.  One  had  to  run  off  early  to 
a  hospital,  and  X.  and  I  remained  to  talk.  He  told  me  that 
the  Versailles  Board  had  already  broken  down  in  practice. 
Baig  had  refused  to  allow  it  to  shift  his  troops  about.  I 
expe  t  that  Koch  will  find  Petain  just  as  hard  to  move. 
So  this  is  what  all  the  gammon  has  como  to,  and  X.  says 
that  tin-  reduction  f,f  the  Versailles  Staff  is  now  admitted 
because  it  will  now  not  have  the  duty  of  carrying  out  large 
movements,   such    as    the   transfer   of   British   reserves   to 


24o     THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

Verdun  !  X.  says  that  Rhondda  will  probably  go,  as  the 
food  position  is  dreadful.  The  whole  thing  is  a  hopeless 
muddle.  It  has  been  the  fixing  of  inadequate  maximum 
prices  that  has  stopped  supplies  at  their  source.  He 
does  not  think  the  evil  beyond  repair,  but  says  that 
there  is  only  wheat  till  August  24  next,  and  that  10  horse 
ships  have  to  go  to  Burma  to  load  rice  to  make  up  the 
deficit  from  August  to  our  next  harvest.  Rhondda  got 
1,200,000  cattle  killed  last  autumn  against  advice,  and  then 
accused  the  Army  of  taking  the  meat,  though  it  had  only 
60,000  carcases.  Rhondda  has  established  no  refrigerat- 
ing plant  all  this  time,  and  meat  has  to  be  passed  through 
it  before  it  goes  into  cold  storage.  It  is  because  the  French 
established  the  refrigerating  plant  that  they  are  so  flush  of 
meat.  A  curator  of  Japanese  prints  likely  to  be  made 
the  cheese  controller  !  Butter  is  wanting  because  it  takes 
2 J  gallons  of  milk  to  make  1  lb.  of  butter,  and  the  fixed 
price  of  the  butter,  2s.  6d.,  is  less  than  the  milk  costs.  X. 
says  that  almost  everything  has  been  equally  muddled. 
The  Irish  are  feeding  their  pigs  on  oats.  What  a  pack  of 
imbeciles  we  have  got !  We  discussed  Carson's  intervention 
yesterday  in  the  Commons,  his  defence  of  Jellicoe,  and  his 
almost  open  attack  on  Geddes  and  Lloyd  George.  A  long 
afternoon  at  the  Tribunal.  At  night  a  Boche  air  raid  from 
12  to  1.15  a.m.  The  Gothas  passed  over  us  and  a  few 
bombs  fell  fairly  near.  About  60  casualties.  A  shell 
struck  my  house,  all  round  a  window  out  of  which  I  was 
looking,  and  a  large  piece  of  the  shell  was  found  in  the 
morning.  My  friends  say  that  it  is  the  Kindergarten  shoot- 
ing at  Maryon  from  St.  James's  Park.  But  the  Kindergarten 
could  never  hit  anything  it  aimed  at.  I  must  ask  our  guns 
on  '  The  Spaniards  '  to  shoot  back  at  No.  10. 

Saturday,  March  9.  Lunched  with  Lady  Massereene 
at  55  Eaton  Place.  Found  there  Mrs.  Peto,  Miss  Norton, 
Lady  Mary,  Sir  F.  E.  Smith, — just  got  back  from  America — 
and  the  Comte  de  Noailles.  A  most  amusing  lunch,  in  which 
the  Attorney-General  and  I  chaffed  each  other  about  the 
Morning  Post  prosecution  and  the  Government. 


1918]  F.  E.  ON  AMERICA  241 

W.  E.  said  that  after  his  return  a  fresh  question  had  come 
up  of  a  renewed  prosecution,  but  that  he  had  not  approved 
of  it  after  my  case  had  been  tried.     We  had  a  good  wrangle 
about  it  all  in  a  good-humoured  way  and  told  each  other 
our    minds.      F.    E.    declared  that   he   had   been  loyal   to 
Asquith  and  was  now  loyal  to  L.  G.,  and  would  do  his  best 
to  defend  the  Government.      I  said  that  I  would  defend 
the  Government  if  in  his  place,  but  admitted  no  loyalty 
except   to   the   country.     F.    E.'s   book   on   his   American 
experiences   just    coining    out.       He    only    saw    President 
Wilson  once.     He  found  the  States  united  and  determined 
about    the    war    wherever    he    went.      His  skipper   heard 
the  Boche  submarines  talking  to  each  other  on  his  return 
home,  and  a   big  ship  was  cut  out  of  the  convoys  which 
preceded  and  followed  them.     He  was  very  flattering  to 
the  value  of  my  past  work  about  the  war.     He  said  that 
L.  G.  had  completely  dished  the  Unionist  War  Committee 
over  their  Press  resolution,  by  going  to  them  and  telling  them 
pretty  plainly  that  the  type  of  man  he  wanted  for  pro- 
paganda was  not  to  be  found  in  the  Committee,  but  was 
to  be  found  in  Northcliffe,  Beaverbrook  and  Co.,  leaving 
the  Committee  convulsed  with  laughter.     F.  E.  says  that 
Ulster's  position  is  unchanged,  and  that  as  all  the  rest  of 
Ireland  is  becoming  Sinn  Fein  and  pro-German,  there  is 
all  the  better  reason  for  Ulster's  intractable  attitude.     But 
F.  E.  was  critical  of  Carson,  whose  speciality,  he  said,  was 
resignation.     He  evidently  does  not  like  Carson's  attitude 
about  Jellicoe,  but  I  do.     De  N.  says  that  the  Bodies  have 
184  divisions  now  in  France.     They  have  eight  more  on  the 
Austrian  front,  and  it  is  a  question  where  they  will  go.     All 
attention  is  just  now   directed  to  the  question  of  Japan 
and  Siberia !     Fagalde  is  in  Paris,  and  Clemenceau,  with  all 
the  Versailles  pack,  .nines  here  on  Monday. 

Sunday,  March  LO.  .Mr.  and  .Mrs.  Owynne  lunched  at 
Biaryon.  A  lovely  spring  day.  Gwynne  says  that  the 
cheque         ent     to     meet,    our    expenses    amount    to    over 

£iooo   already.      He  1-.  "f   course,   returning  then   with 
thanks. 


242     THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

Lord  X.  writes  to  me  that  David  Davies,  M.P.,  the  friend 
of  L.  G.,  went  to  Paris  some  months  ago  as  an  ambassador 
furnished  with  a  letter  to  Painleve  demanding  the  recall  of 
Sarrail.  He  insisted  upon  being  present  at  a  Council  of 
Ministers  presided  over  by  Poincare.  Le  Roy  chaperoned 
him  as  he  could  speak  no  French.  He  was  in  uniform  as  a 
major,  sat  at  the  right  hand  of  the  President  of  the  Republic, 
and  produced  his  ultimatum.  It  is  lucky  for  him  Clemen- 
ceau  was  not  there  !  Are  we  living  through  the  greatest 
tragedy  of  all  history,  or  are  we  all  supers  in  a  comic 
opera  ? 

Monday,  March  11.  Met  the  Labour  leader,  Arthur 
Henderson,  M.P.  About  fifty-five  and  well  preserved.  A 
strongish  face  with  hard  lines.  We  had  a  political  talk. 
He  holds  that  if  Stockholm  had  come  off,  the  Russians 
would  still  be  in.  H.  says  that  with  the  alternative  vote 
he  expected  280  Labour  members  at  the  next  General 
Election,  but  as  he  had  not  got  it  he  counted  on  only 
100  to  120.  He  had  only  38  in  his  party  now,  and 
about  a  dozen  of  them  were  in  the  Government  or  with 
L.  G.  He  admitted  that  his  party  had  been  squared  by 
L.  G.  when  the  latter  came  in,  partly  by  the  promise 
of  Cabinet  posts  and  partly  by  promises  about  the 
nationalisation  of  various  industries.  Asquith  had  not 
credited  that  either  the  Unionists  or  Labour  would  join 
L.  G.,  though  H.  had  warned  him  to  the  contrary.  If  a 
fresh  Coalition  Government  were  formed  he  might  join  it, 
but  not  on  such  terms  that  they  could  do  nothing  except  by 
resigning.  If  he  ever  formed  a  Government,  he  talked  of 
J.  H.  Thomas,  Clynes,  Anderson,  Smillie,  Ramsay  Mac- 
donald,  and  Lansbury  as  his  colleagues.  Not  much  chance 
of  Unionist  or  Liberal  collaboration  with  the  last  three ! 
He  spoke  unpleasantly  about  Ulster,  vowing  that  he  would 
impose  the  majority  wishes  on  the  North,  but  I  told  him 
that  he  would  not  do  so  without  fighting. 

Tuesday,  March  12.  I  began  a  reply  to  Mr.  Bonar  Law's 
review  of  the  war  on  March  7.  Dined  with  Lady  Juliet  and 
the    Pembrokes.     Lady    Juliet    looking    very   handsome. 


1918]  AIR-RAID  COMEDIES  243 

Reggie  ever  so  much  better.  He  probably  leaves  next 
week  for  Japan  via  America,  with  Sir  Arthur  Paget,  to  present 
a  F.M.'s  baton  to  the  Emperor  of  Japan,  and  he  hopes  to  go 
on  to  Siberia  if  the  Japanese  send  troops  there.  At  about 
9  p.m.  Juliet  had  a  message  from  BOmewhere  to  say  that  the 
Zepps.  were  moving  off  the  Dutch  coast,  but  the}'  went  to 
Yorkshire  and  did  not  favour  us.  Bee  says  that  she  gave 
a  dance  for  the  young  Prince  of  Wales  on  the  night  of  the 
last  air  raid,  and  that  no  one  turned  a  hair,  and  all  of  them 
went  on  dancing  without  taking  any  notice.  But  a  shrapnel 
shell  came  through  the  skylight  of  the  kitchen,  and  the  cook 
made  for  the  safe,  with  her  best  hat  and  her  money  in  her 
hand  !  Juliet  said  that  Belloc  and  Chesterton  dined  with 
her  the  same  night  and  were  so  absorbed  by  their  own 
conversation  that  they  did  not  hear  the  bombs.  Bee  is 
resuming  her  hospital  work  at  Wilton,  where  she  has  now 
sixty  beds  for  officers.  The  library  and  dining-room  will 
now  be  filled  with  them.  She  is  only  keeping  three  spare 
rooms  in  the  big  house  for  her  personal  guests.  Soothsayers 
and  precocious  infants  are  prophesying  the  end  of  the  war 
in  April.     It  will  have  to  hurry  up. 

Wednesday,  March  13.  Finished  a  severe  criticism  of  the 
Cabinet  for  its  conduct  of  the  war.  Went  down  to  Agnew's 
and  saw  a  beautiful  early  portrait  by  Rembrandt  of  himself. 
Our  counter-battery  officers  tell  me  that  the  German 
heavies  are  moving  north.  An  interesting  piece  of  news 
which  looks  like  an  attack  on  us. 

Thursday,  March  14.  Lunched  with  Olive  ;  Theresa  Lady 
Londonderry,  Lady  Leslie,  Dodo  Benson,  and  some  others. 
Wish  that  I  could  recall  the  am  using  stories  told.  One,  of  a 
dance  given  by  Lady  La  very  at  an  hotel.  A  guest  arrives 
and  says  to  a  servant,  '  Where  can  I  find  Lady  Lavery  !  ' 
'  Downstairs,  first  turning  on  the  right,  sir.'  Another,  of 
King  Edward's  fury  at  Queen  Victoria's  funeral  at  seeing 
Mi-  A.-fjuith  in  a  yellow  fur.  'It  was  horrible  I  1  have 
never  seen  a  cat  that  colour,  but  it  certainly  was  cat.' 
Another,  of  a  famous  peere     who  had  married  an  admirer  of 

twenty  years1  Standing  and  of  whom  some  one  said  'she  had 


244     THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

made  an  honest  man  of  him  at  last.'  Various  stories  of 
John  Morley,  including  Rosebery's  lament  that  M.  had  never 
been  delivered  of  a  man-child  as  it  might  have  made  him 
more  human.  Recollections  of  Lady  Randolph's  youth  and 
of  her  beauty  and  fascination,  which  were  extraordinary. 
I  was  told  that  the  Home  Office  had  asked  the  War  Office 
to  seize  the  Morning  Post  plant  and  to  dismantle  it.  The 
W.O.  had  refused,  as  they  said  that  my  article  had  not  told 
the  Boches  anything  that  they  did  not  know.  They  asked 
why  the  Home  Office  did  not  act,  as  they  had  powers.  They 
replied  that  Sir  G.  Cave,  the  Home  Secretary,  might  not 
approve  ! 

Dined  with  Lady  Paget ;  Lady  Ridley,  Mrs.  Rupert 
Beckett,  Evan  Charteris,  Sir  F.  E.  Smith,  the  American 
Admiral  Sims,  and  Lord  Charles  Montagu.  The  Admiral 
told  me  that  the  Boches  had  now  about  160  U-boats,  but 
rarely  more  than  8  or  10  cruising  at  once,  as  it  was  a  most 
trying  service,  and  they  were  often  in  port  for  30  to  60  days 
repairing  and  resting  crews.  No  more  volunteers  now 
offered  themselves,  and  the  crews  had  to  be  ordered  to  join. 
Our  convoy  system,  of  which  he  has  been  a  strong 
advocate,  had  compelled  the  U-boats  to  cruise  nearer  to 
our  shores  off  Brest,  Land's  End,  and  the  north  of  Ireland. 
It  was  when  the  convoys  broke  up  and  our  merchant  ships 
went  to  their  separate  ports  that  most  of  the  losses  occurred. 
I  asked  why  every  convoy,  with  full  escort,  did  not  all  go 
to  one  port,  but  it  seems  that  it  is  inconvenient.  Not 
more  so  than  being  sunk,  I  should  think.  The  Americans 
are  turning  out  6  or  7  destroyers  a  month  and  will  soon 
have  8  or  10.  There  are  160  on  the  stocks.  The  Ford 
200-ton  boats  will  soon  be  delivered  at  the  rate  of  one  a 
day.  A  cheery  time  in  store  for  the  U-boats,  I  hope.  Sir 
F.  E.  told  us  some  more  of  his  American  experiences.  He 
had  given  fifty-two  interviews,  and  all  were  fairly  reported 
except  one  by  a  Sinn  Feiner,  which  was  abominably  untrue. 
It  had  done  him  harm.  The  Hearst  papers  had  reported 
in  huge  headlines  that  he  had  been  recalled  because  he  was 
made  to   say  of   the   Irish   Convention  that   it  was  just 


1918]  INVASION  STANDARD  CHANGED  AGAIN  245 

assembled  to  talk.    At  one  dinner  where  he  had  prepared 

his  speech  carefully.  Roosevelt  was  down  to  speak.  It  was  im- 
portant for  F.  E.  to  get  his  speech  out  in  time  for  the  morning 
papers,  so  he  asked  Roosevelt  how  long  he  would  take,  and 
when  Roosevelt  said  half  an  hour,  F.  E.  begged  him  to  speak 
first.  Roosevelt  accepted  and  took  an  hour  and  twenty 
minutes,  with  the  result  that  not  a  word  of  F.  E.'s  speech 
reached  the  Press  in  time.  F.  E.  had  selected  one  of  eight 
typists  and  had  brought  her  to  England  to  take  down  his 
book  on  America  in  shorthand  during  the  voyage.  He 
dictated  all  the  morning  and  she  typed  it  all  the  afternoon. 
He  had  presented  her  with  £100  and  sent  her  back. 

F.  E.  asked  me  whether  I  had  fallen  out  with  NorthclifTe 
or  Dawson  when  I  left  the  Times.  I  said  that  I  had  had 
no  personal  disagreement  with  NorthclifTe,  and  that  my 
quarrel  was  with  Dawson.  F.  E.  said  that  when  the  trouble 
arose  about  the  Times  alarmist  telegram  after  Mons,  he 
and  Dawson  had  both  made  mistakes,  and  he  gave  me  the 
reasons  why  he  had  cut  Dawson  ever  since. 

Lady  Ridley  says  that  she  has  lost  half  a  stone  during  the 
war,  but  that  she  will  only  despair  when  deprived  of  cigar- 
ettes and  biscuits.  Evan  Charteris  at  home  from  the  Tanks 
for  four  months  at  the  Bar. 

Friday,  March  15.  Lunched  with  the  Pembrokes,  Lady 
Juliet,  Lord  and  Lady  Anglesey,  and  General  Lowther. 
Reggie  very  sure  that  we  shall  beat  the  Boches  in  the  West, 
and  that  invasion  is  impossible.  Lowther  tells  me  that 
Admiral  Wemyss's  standard  of  potential  invaders  has  been 
now  raised  by  him  from  30,000  to  60,000.  I  like  the  way 
these  folk  chop  and  change  as  if  they  were  playing  roulette  ! 
Meanwhile  the  reserve  divisions  at  home  have  been  broken 
up  for  France.  Anglesey  has  joined  Robertson's  Staff. 
Went  on  to  meet  General  Dessino.  He  wants  mo  to 
support  the  Japanese  plan  for  Siberia,  and  thinks  that 
if  the  Japs  get  as  far  as  Irkutsk  it  will  do  to  givo  the 
loyal  elements  in  Russia  a  chance.  But  ho  wants  us  to 
make  ran  thai  Japan  will  not  stay  in  Siberia,  and  thinks 

thai  -Ik-  may  I"-  <  <>nipcnsatc<I  in  Manchuria. 


246     THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

He  says  that  on  the  night  of  the  last  air  raid  there  was  a 
furious  knocking  at  his  door.  He  was  in  bed  in  a  short  shirt, 
as  Russians,  he  says,  never  wear  pyjamas,  and  he  went  to  open 
the  door  when  in  rushed  a  foreign  diplomat  and  presented  his 
French  wife,  paying  no  attention  to  Dessino's  embarrassment 
and  praying  for  sanctuary  !  Dessino  says  that  the  Great 
Russians  and  the  Ukrainians  have  long  disliked  each  other, 
and  that  the  latter  speak  a  different  dialect.  He  doubts 
whether  the  Germans  will  get  much  grain  as  the  fields  of 
the  landlords  are  untilled,  and  the  peasants  will  bury  their 
grain  and  will  only  sell  for  gold.  He  is  sure  that  Russia 
will  revive  some  day,  and  says  that  she  is  not  fit  for  re- 
publican institutions. 

I  saw  Sir  William  Robertson  at  York  House  for  the  first 
time  since  his  dismissal.  He  was  looking  well  and  cheery. 
He  said  that  he  had  found  that  he  had  more  friends  than 
he  knew,  but  fewer  on  whom  he  could  count  than  he  ex- 
pected. Everybody  had  told  him  to  stand  firm,  but  few, 
except  G wynne  and  I,  had  stood  by  him  when  he  did  so. 
R.  said  that  Foch,  at  Versailles,  had  been  good  about  our 
strengths,  and  that  Clemenceau  had  evidently  posted  him 
up  in  what  to  say.  L.  G.  had  replied  in  the  sense  that 
Clemenceau  had  told  me,  and  Foch's  answer  had  been  good, 
when  L.  G.  got  up  in  a  furious  rage  saying  that  he  would 
not  remain  in  the  Council  if  his  acts  were  to  be  criticised 
by  a  foreign  general.  He  had  appealed  to  the  President, 
and  Clemenceau,  while  saying  that  Foch  had  a  right  to 
speak,  threw  oil  on  the  troubled  waters.  But  L.  G.  was 
white,  heated,  and  looked  like  a  ruffled  bird,  all  of  a  heap. 
He  was  given  a  very  bad  time,  and  every  one  was  against 
him. 

The  next  day  Aleppo  came  up,  and  Clemenceau  began  by 
saying  that  after  the  previous  day's  discussion  of  numbers 
and  its  result,  there  could,  of  course,  be  no  question  of  Aleppo, 
whereupon  L.  G.  got  up  and  began  an  impassioned  defence  of 
it,  talking  the  usual  tommy-rot  for  half  an  hour.  Clemenceau 
then  gave  him  a  great  dressing-down,  saying  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  talk  of  such  follies  when  the  Germans  had  nine 


1918]  ROBERTSON'S  VIEWS  247 

French  departments  in  then  hands  and  were  within  sixty 
miles  of  Paris.  He  poured  scorn  on  the  plan,  and  drove 
in  point  after  point,  leaving  L.  G.  smaller  and  smaller  until 
he  was  almost  shrivelled  up.  L.  G.,  in  fact,  had  never  re- 
ceived such  a  dusting  in  his  life. 

As  for  Versailles,  R.  thought  that  nobody  really  wanted  it 
or  believed  in  it.  R.'s  own  plan  was  the  only  tenable  one. 
He  heard  that  the  Italians  did  not  like  the  present  plan  at  all. 
A  plan  which  placed  two  generals  in  command  at  the  front 
and  a  third  in  command  of  the  reserves  was  damned  bjr  its 
own  inherent  futility.  He  thought  that  L.  G.,  having  secured 
R.'s,  disappearance,  would  soon  throw  over  the  Versailles 
scheme.  He  said  that  L.  G.,  instead  of  being  pleased  with 
Allenby'a  campaign,  had  fumed  because  the  G.S.,  unwilling 
to  prophesy  the  result  of  a  battle,  had  not  guaranteed  the 
occupation  of  Jerusalem  on  any  fixed  day,  and  L.  G.  had 
accused  both  R.  and  Allenby  of  exaggerating  difficulties  in 
older  to  prevent  the  campaign  from  taking  place.  R.  said 
that  he,  R.,  had  never  favoured  the  Palestine  campaign,  and 
that  there  were  plenty  of  papers  to  prove  it.  We  could  not 
spare  the  men  for  these  luxuries  till  we  were  safe  in  France. 

R.  had  begun  his  inspections  of  the  S.E.  garrisons,  and 
had  been  appalled  by  the  bad  quality  of  his  men.  I  told 
R.  that  I  had  entirely  disagreed  with  the  G.S.  about  Home 
Defence,  and  hoped  that  he  would  not  be  confronted  too 
much  with  his  own  department's  papers,  and  would  not  be  too 
much  upset  when  he  found  how  rotten  Home  Defence  was. 

Saturday,  March  1G.  Lunched  with  Mrs.  Ronny  Greville 
and  met  Mr.  Asquith.  Asquith  in  good  form  and  very 
good  company.  He  was  looking  well  and  rested.  After 
lunch  was  over,  Mrs.  Greville  left  us  alone,  and  we  had 
a  Berioufl  talk.  Il<-  asked  for  my  views.  Would  the 
great  German  attack  come  ?  I  said  that  I  believed 
the  ELuhlmann  part)  dreaded  it,  and  that  its  delivery 
would  mean  tin-  eternal  hostility  <>f  the  Western  Powers, 
including  America  whether  the  Huns  won  or  lost,  and 
thai  i:h-  political  and  economic  effect  upon  Germany 
would  bo  disastrous  to  her.     But  1  eould  lind  no  military 


248     THE  MORNING  POST  PEOSECUTION 

grounds  for  believing  that  the  attack  would  not  come,  as 
all  the  preparations  were  for  attack,  and  I  thought  that 
our  business  was  to  prepare  against  it,  whether  it  was  to 
be  war  or  negotiation,  so  that  in  either  event  we  might 
stand  in  the  most  favourable  position  possible.  With  this 
Asquith  entirely  agreed,  and  he  wants  us  to  close  down 
the  side-shows  and  do  all  we  can  on  the  Western  front. 
Presuming  the  attack  took  place,  how  would  it  be  planned  ? 
I  thought  by  the  delivery  of  preliminary  attacks  at  Salonika 
or  in  Palestine  to  draw  away  our  reserves,  and  then  a  great 
blow  at  Italy  with  the  mass  of  the  Austrians  and  a  few  Hun 
divisions  as  spearhead.  The  Italians  would  send  up  the 
S.O.S.  and  our  troops  would  have  to  go  to  help,  and  then 
the  big  thing  would  come  in  France  when  our  reserves  were 
scurrying  about  to  help  in  distant  theatres. 

Would  it  break  through  ?  I  could  not  say,  but  thought 
that  it  would  have  to  be  delivered  and  would  be  serious.  With 
this,  also,  Asquith  agreed.  Then,  we  came  to  consider  this 
main  operation,  and  I  found  that  Asquith  and  I  were  agreed 
that  we  could  not  anticipate  the  military  defeat  of  the 
Germans  now  that  the  Russians  had  gone  out,  until  greater 
Yankee  forces  arrived  or  we  altered  our  Eastern  strategy, 
and  that  the  only  question  at  present  was  whether  the  Huns 
could  defeat  us.  We  each  gave  this  as  our  private  opinion, 
and  both  said  that  we  could  neither  of  us  express  it  openly. 
We  agreed,  also,  that  the  only  course  was  to  go  on  and  hold 
out  until  greater  American  support  arrived,  but  neither 
of  us,  with  the  present  rate  of  American  arrivals,  expected 
anything  decisive  on  this  side  till  well  into  1919,  and  Asquith 
asked  whether  we  could  stand  the  strain. 

He  was  interesting  on  this  American  point.  If  we  made 
terms  with  the  enemy  now,  Asquith  thought  that  the  Ameri- 
cans would  be  as  furious  with  us  as  we  should  have  been  with 
the  French  if  they  had  made  peace  in  1915,  when  we  had  a 
million  men  training  here.  The  Americans  thought  that  they 
were  going  to  do  a  big  thing,  and  they  would  despise  us  for 
giving  way  when  America  was  about  to  win  the  war  :  they 
would  hate  us  more  than  after  the  War  of  Independence. 


1918]  A  TALK  WITH  ASQUITH  249 

Yes.  I  said,  and  then  there  is  the  future.  If  we  are  left  to 
be  the  sole  support  of  France  at  some  future  date  when 
Germany  is  ready  to  renew  the  war,  then  life  in  England 
would  be  intolerable.  We  must  get  America  right  in  and 
responsible  for  the  Peace  Terms,  so  that  if  Germany  broke 
them  America  would  be  involved,  having  footed  the  joint 
bill.  Therefore  it  comes  to  this,  said  Asquith,  that  we  must 
go  on  and  hold  out  until  the  Americans  are  well  in,  and 
that  we  could  not  make  terms  except  with  their  full  partici- 
pation and  approval.  This  seemed  to  me  the  only  rational 
conclusion. 

Asquith  had  met  Clemenceau  at  the  French  Embassy 
last  night,  and  C.  had  complained  that  these  Inter-Allied 
Councils  were  a  great  waste  of  time.     This  accorded  with 
my  information  that  things  had  been  left  unsettled,1  and 
Asquith  thought  that  there  was  no  point  in  a  monthly 
meeting  to  take  up  three  or  four  days  of  the  time  of  a  busy 
man.     I  said  that  I  heard  that  the  Italians  were  not  at 
all  pleased  with  Versailles.     I  did  not  think  that  L.  G.  would 
pine  to  go  to  Versailles  again,  so  distressing  had  been  his 
experience  on  the  last  occasion.     It  was  all  right  for  him 
when  he  dominated  the  others  and  could  go  large,  but  now  he 
was  up  against  Clemenceau,  who  saw  through  him  and  asked 
him   inconvenient   questions  which   he  could  not  answer. 
Asquith  thought  that  Briand  was  the  best  of  the  French 
statesmen,  and  I  told  him  how  much   I  appreciated  him, 
and  repeated  something  of  my  last  talk  with  Briand,  in- 
cluding the  '  Rubicon '  story,  which  amused  Asquith  much. 
The  latter  thought  that  Marshall  should  remain  at  Bagdad, 
where  he  might  make  himself  safe,  and  he  did  not  much 
approve  of  the  advance  to  Hit.     He  did  not  know  why 
Allenby    was    again    advancing,    but    he    had    heard   that 
Damascus   had  now   been  substituted  for   Aleppo  as  the 
objective,  and  Asquith  saw  no  point  in  the  advance,  while 
J  told  him  th.il  it  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  false  strategy 
which  revelled  in  Luxuries  and  forgot  necessities.     Asquith 

1  Actually,  th'-  pun  <-<>noocted  at  Pun    iii.  1  ii .en  lenooked  out.     Haig 
uii'i  J'.'-iiim  bad  been  laft  in  •  fchair  own  retorvet. 


250     THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

did  not  like  the  look  of  things  at  Salonika.  He  told  me 
how  Joffre  had  led  us  there  at  Briand's  instigation,  and 
put  it  all  down  to  the  desire  of  both  to  get  Sarrail  out  of 
France,  and  to  dish  the  Rue  de  Valois  people.  We  feared 
that  if  Caillaux  were  not  condemned,  Clemenceau  might 
fall,  and  Asquith  thought  that  there  was  not  enough  evi- 
dence against  Caillaux  to  hang  a  cat.  We  both  marvelled 
at  Clemenceau's  activity  and  courage. 

Asquith  asked  me  much  about  the  relations  between  Foch, 
Petain,  Mvelle,  and  Haig,  and  I  told  him  how  these  matters 
stood.  We  thought  that  this  sort  of  jumble  might  go  on  with- 
out an  exposure  until  the  German  attack  came,  but  that  then 
the  Versailles  plan  of  disunity  of  command  must  break  down. 
I  also  told  Asquith  about  the  reduction  of  his  old  70,000- 
invaders'  standard  to  30,000,  how  I  heard  that  it  had 
now  been  again  raised,  how  these  people  were  trifling 
with  a  serious  matter,  and  how  rotten  I  had  found  Home 
Defence,  concerning  which  he  knew  my  views  very  well 
from  the  old  Defence  Committee  inquiries. 

I  spoke  to  Asquith  about  the  state  of  our  divisions  and 
regretted  that  no  notice  had  been  taken  in  Parliament  of 
their  reduced  strengths.  Asquith  understood  that  we  were 
to  have  150,000  American  infantry  to  fill  up.  I  said  that  I 
had  heard  the  same  thing,  but  objected  to  the  plan,  firstly, 
because  L.  G.  would  make  it  a  fresh  excuse  for  refusing  to 
supply  more  men,  and,  secondly,  from  my  dread  of  a  change 
in  American  feeling  if  an  American  contingent  was  knocked 
about,  or  if  some  act  of  American  indiscipline  were  sternly 
punished.  Asquith  also  thought  that  this  plan  was  serious 
and  might  prove  dangerous. 

Mrs.  Greville  never  asked  me  anything  about  the  con- 
versation,— a  reticence  which  I  much  appreciated — but 
I  told  her  that  Asquith  and  I  were  quite  agreed.  She  said 
that  after  the  Conference  in  France  in  Oct.  1915,  when  the 
Salonika  expedition  had  been  settled,  Asquith  and  Balfour 
had  been  2|  hours  late  in  returning,  and  that  Asquith, 
who  was  due  to  dine  with  her,  had  come  in  at  10.30  p.m. 
to  ask  for  a  whisky-and-soda  and  a  sandwich.     He   had 


1918]  MRS.  FORD'S  LAST  SONG  251 

told  Mrs.  Greville  that  he  had  been  blackmailed,  which 
tS  just  what  .Salonika  amounted  to.  She  has  just  bought 
the  Raeburn  and  Lawrence  pictures  of  the  Pattisson  and 
Patcrson  children,  and  they  were  hanging  up  and  looked 
fine.  As  good  examples  of  early  English  as  one  could  wish 
to  possess. 

Dined  with  Theresa  Lady  Londonderry,  and  found  a  man, 
Whose  name  I  did  not  catch,  from  the  Munitions  Ministry; 
also  Lady  Beatty  and  Mrs.  Lascelles — Balfour's  niece.  I 
had  a  good  talk  with  her  about  things.  She  is  attractive 
and  intelligent.  Lady  Beatty  told  me  that  her  Admiral  now 
has  to  send  some  of  his  bigger  ships  constantly  to  sea,  and 
that  it  is  an  additional  anxiety  and  may  some  day  bring 
on  a  big  fight. 

Sunday,  March  17.  Met  at  Olive's  Mr.  Jerome  Greene 
of  the  American  H.Q.  Allied  Maritime  Transport  Council  who 
work  at  12  Eaton  Square.  Belle  Herbert,  Mrs.  Crawshay, 
Lady  Leslie,  and  the  Councillor  of  the  Spanish  Embassy 
Count  San  Esteban  de  Canongo  also  there.  Mrs.  Crawshay 
told  us  that  she  had  helped  Lady  Bagot  to  clear  up  at  the 
house  in  Warrington  Crescent,  where  there  had  been  killed,  in 
the  last  raid,  Mrs.  Ford,  who  wrote  the  popular  song,  '  Keep 
the  Home  Fires  Burning.'  She  had  found  in  the  house  a 
short  list  of  other  songs,  and  the  last  written  by  Mrs.  Ford 

-  called,  '  For  Me — Remembrance  !  '  Walked  away 
with  Greene,  who  thinks  that  considering  all  the  progress 
made  in  the  last  two  months,  the  American  transport  of 
troops  will  now  make  great  strides  ahead.  We  are  about 
to  commandeer  all  Dutch  ships  in  Allied  ports,  and  the 
Germans  are  furious  about  it  and  threaten  reprisals  on 
Holland.  Dined  with  General  and  Mrs.  Harbord  a( 
Prince's.  The  General  and  I  discussed  Palestine,  whence 
be  has  jusf  returned,  and  I  found  him  in  full  accord  wi1h 
the  views  that    Robertson  and   1  hold  about  the  Campaign* 

lb-  commands  the  Im j »« ri;i  1   .Service  troops  from    India, 
and  1    a  good  type  of   the  [ndian  Army  officer,      His   is 
jn  -1  oil'  again  to  Egj  pi . 
Monday,  March  IS,    Mel  Arthur  Henderson  again,  and 

Vol..    II.  S 


252     THE  MORNING  POST  PROSECUTION 

we  sat  gossiping  about  politics  until  4  p.m.  H.  rather 
approved  of  Milner,  but  not  of  Curzon.  The  latter  had 
fought  H.  in  the  Cabinet  over  the  new  register  which  C. 
hated  so  much  that  he  would  rather  have  wrecked  the 
Cabinet  than  have  given  women  votes.  At  last  H.  had 
thumped  the  table  and  had  asked  Curzon  whether  he 
wished  the  working-classes  to  get  their  rights  by  com- 
promise or  by  revolution,  and  this  shut  Curzon  up.  A 
good  but  probably  untrue  story  of  Curzon  seeing  soldiers 
bathing  and  expressing  surprise  that  the  lower  orders  had 
such  white  skins.  Father  Wynch  came  up  to  Mary  on. 
He  is  on  leave  from  the  front,  and  said  that  there  had 
been  15,000  converts  to  Roman  Catholicism  in  our  Armies 
in  France.  He  thought  that  the  main  reason  was  that 
imminence  of  danger  caused  the  men  to  turn  to  the  Church, 
which  offered  such  help  and  consolation  to  her  sons  in  the 
hour  of  death,  and  also  the  magnificent  conduct  of  the 
French  priests  in  the  ranks  of  the  Army.  He  thought  the 
spirit  of  the  men  very  good. 

Tuesday,  March  19.  I  hear  that  the  meeting  of  the 
Allied  War  Council  here  has  cancelled  the  Paris  decision 
about  a  third  Commander  for  the  reserves .  I  am  told  that 
my  criticism  killed  the  silly  plan.  Now  Haig  and  Petain 
will  have  a  dog's  chance  at  all  events.  Went  to  lunch  with 
Mrs.  Greville  and  found  Lord  Chaplin,  Lady  Londonderry, 
Lord  Peel,  Lady  Drummond  the  Canadian,  Mrs.  Bevil 
Fortescue,  and  a  Canadian  colonel.  Walter  Long  had  the 
'flu  and  could  not  come.  Lord  Chaplin  had  just  been 
addressing  a  crowd  in  Trafalgar  Square  from  a  hay  cart ! 
He  was  trying  to  get  10,000  more  women  for  the  land. 
He  says  that  Prothero  is  an  authority  on  the  history  of 
agriculture,  and  on  its  literary  and  statistical  side. 
Chaplin  is  hating  Rhondda  and  all  his  works,  and  agrees 
that  his  staff  are  pestiferous.  I  walked  round  to  his  house, 
a  few  doors  off  Mrs.  Ronny's,  and  we  had  a  bit  of  a  talk 
about  the  war.  Went  on  with  Mrs.  Ronny  to  Christie's 
and  saw  a  fine  lot  of  Raeburns  from  some  Scottish  private 
houses,  largely  Mackenzies.     They   should  sell  well.     We 


1918]  SWEDEN  AND  FINLAND  253 

admired  a  boy's  picture  very  much,  and  the  portraits  were 
very  striking.  Went  on  afterwards  to  play  a  little  Bridge 
with  Queen  Amelie  of  Portugal,  Countess  Wrangel  the  wife 
of  the  Swedish  Minister,  and  the  Vicomte  Asseca.  The 
Vicomtesse  gave  us  a  sumptuous  tea.  The  Queen  most 
agreeable  as  always.  The  Countess  complained  that  we 
ought  to  have  invited  the  Swedes  to  clear  Finland.  I 
think  it  better  that  the  Swedes  should  hate  the  Bodies 
for  doing  so.  1  happened  to  have  in  my  pocket  my  minia- 
ture of  Lady  Hamilton.  The  Queen  was  greatly  taken 
with  it,  and  agreed  that  it  explained  Emma  as  no  Romney 
portrait  had  ever  done.  I  have  had  it  photographed  for 
Vestigia. 

W'idnesday,  March  20.  Had  another  look  at  the  early 
Rembrandt  portrait  of  himself  and  liked  it  even  better  than 
before.  Colin  Agnew  brought  in  a  £15,000  Franz  Hals,  and 
the  Rembrandt  made  it  look  positively  common.  I  prefer  the 
early  Rembrandts  to  all  later  ones,  but  it  seems  that  the 
American  market  does  not — a  satisfactory  confirmation  of 
my  opinion. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 
THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

The  German  offensive  of  March  21  begins — The  ninety-three  German 
divisions  against  the  British — General  Crozier  on  American  trans- 
port and  guns — Disquieting  reports — A  large  claim  of  captured 
prisoners  and  guns  by  the  Germans — Mr.  Bonar  Law's  unfortunate 
prediction — The  battle  continues  to  go  against  us — Our  Army  back 
on  the  lines  of  1916 — Germans  claim  45,000  prisoners  and  1000  guns — 
Our  men  fighting  one  against  three— The  War  Cabinet's  death-bed 
repentance — Our  losses  110,000  in  a  week — General  Foch  appointed 
Co-ordinator — A  conversation  with  General  Robertson — -The  position 
of  our  reserves  before  the  battle — The  French  support  us — The  new 
Man-Power  Bill — Colonel  Fagalde  on  the  situation — General  Foch's 
optimism — Sir  Hubert  Gough  on  the  defeat  of  his  5th  Army  by  over- 
whelming numbers — A  fresh  German  attack  at  Armentieres  succeeds 
— General  Trenchard's  dismissal — Mr.  Lloyd  George's  excuses  for 
our  defeats — The  position  in  Russia — General  Foch  has  no  troops 
yet  for  a  great  counter-attack — Sir  Alan  Johnstone  and  the  Hague 
Legation — M.  Cambon  on  Japanese  intervention — Lord  Rothermere's 
resignation — Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  Sir  Edward  Carson  on  the  Morning 
Post  and  the  Times — General  Allenby  on  the  change  of  policy  in  the 
East. 

Thursday,  March  21.  Alea  jacta  est  !  This  morning  there 
began  the  much  discussed  German  offensive  in  the  West 
against  our  British  Armies  between  the  Oise  and  the  Scarpe. 
We  were  furiously  attacked  by  heavy  masses  which  got  into 
some  of  our  front  lines  after  suffering  great  losses.  Only 
the  valour  of  the  British  soldier  can  atone  for  the  follies  of 
the  War  Cabinet. 

Friday,  March  22.  Haig's  report  this  morning  is  that  we 
are  holding  the  enemy,  but  there  is  nothing  to  show  what  we 
have  lost.  Lunched  with  Lady  Paget  and  met  Prince  and 
Princess  Victor  Bonaparte,  Lady  Lowther,  the  American 
General  Crozier,  and  the  Comte  de  Noailles.     The  latter  told 

254 


1918]  A  DISQUIETING  REPORT  255 

me  that  there  were  93  German  divisions  on  the  British  front 
now,  and  that  yesterday*s  attack  w  as  delivered  by  45  German 
divisions,  of  which  20  or  so  were  in  first  line,  and  the  rest  in 
reserve.  We  seem,  on  the  whole,  to  have  held  them,  but  the 
W.O.  expects  that  we  have  lost  men  and  guns.  A  pleasant 
talk  with  the  Prince  and  Princess,  between  whom  1  sat.  He 
tells  me  that  the  Empress  Eugenie,  who  is  93,  is  still  well 
and  in  full  possession  of  all  her  faculties.  His  house  in  the 
Avenue  Louise  is  all  right  and  will  so  remain  while  the 
Spanish  Minister  is  at  Brussels.  Went  off  with  Crozier,  who 
thinks  that  America  can  send  more  than  one  division  a 
month  to  France  now,  and  that  tonnage  will  be  doubled  by 
August.  He  expects  an  aggregate  of  500,000  men  by  Jane, 
1,000,000  by  the  end  of  the  year,  and  2,000,000  by  the 
summer  of  1919.  He  hopes  that  they  can  be  supplied,  but 
it  will  need  6,000,000  tons  gross  at  3  tons  a  man.  Their 
rifles  are  all  right.  The  French  field  guns,  though  not  up 
to  the  promised  number,  are  coining  on  as  quickly  as  the 
troops  arrive,  and  none  have  been  yet  without  their  guns. 
The  Brownings,  on  which  the  U.S.  have  banked,  are  said  to 
have  proved  very  successful  in  their  trials.  They  have  only 
one  division  in  the  line  by  itself,  but  two  others  mixed  up 
with  French  troops. 

Saturday,  March  23.  Haig's  report  of  last  night  is  more 
disquieting,  and  the  Germans  say  that  they  have  taken 
Mi, (MM.)  prisoners  and  200  guns.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
greater  part  of  our  first-line  system,  except,  the  reserve  line, 
was  in  German  hands  yesterday  from  the  Sensee  to  the  <  use, 
partly  captured,  and  partly  evacuated  for  troops  to  preserve 
their  alignment.  Besides  forty  divisions  attacking,  other 
mai  es  are  identified  in  rear,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  this  will  be  the  decisive  battle  of  the  war. 

TheOabinei  much  rallied,  and  L. G.  tells  the  miners  that 
■  ii  is  absolutely  essential  for  us,  if  we  are  (<>  avoid  defeat, 
to  have   more   men    to    maintain   our   Armies   iii    the   field.' 

He  added,  I  have  never  heard  any  one  challenge  thai 
Deed.'  Se  al  0  saj  thai  'the  Germans  have  attacked 
tu  with  overwhelming  force  .'     Let  him  compare  this  cry 


256     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

of  anguish  with  the  speech  of  the  War  Cabinet  spokesman, 
Mr.  Bonar  Law,  only  a  fortnight  ago,  on  March  7,  when  he 
declared  that  l  there  will  be  no  dangerous  superiority  on  the 
Western  front  from  the  point  of  view  of  guns  any  more  than 
from  the  point  of  view  of  men,'  and  that  he  was  '  still  a  little 
sceptical '  about  the  threatened  offensive.  To  that  I  replied 
in  the  Morning  Post,  on  March  16,  that  it  was  not  legitimate 
to  be  sceptical  about  the  offensive,  and  I  drew  the  conclusion 
from  B.  L.'s  speech  that  the  War  Cabinet  '  has  no  sense  of 
the  realities  of  war,  nor  of  its  mechanics,  nor  of  the  manner 
of  fighting  of  the  Germans,  nor  of  the  advantages  of  the 
initiative.'  All  the  blindness  and  folly  of  the  War  Cabinet 
for  a  year  past  are  now  bearing  their  bitter  fruits. 

I  lunched  with  the  Ian  Hamiltons.  Sir  Ian  confessed  that 
he  and  all  the  War  Cabinet  had  been  hopelessly  at  fault  in 
disbelieving  in  the  German  offensive.  We  were  feeling  too 
badly  about  the  loss  of  men,  guns,  and  ground,  announced 
to-day,  to  talk  much.  Met  Colonel  Webber  of  the  St. 
John's  Wood  R.A.  Cadet  School :  he  seems  a  nice  fellow. 
Belle  Herbert  and  some  others  there. 

Monday,  March  25.  The  battle  continues  to  go  against 
us,  and  our  two  Armies,  the  5th  and  3rd,  are  retiring  slowly. 
The  Germans  make  high  claims  of  men  and  guns  captured. 
Fagalde  lunched  with  me  at  Prince's  Grill.  We  found  that 
everything  that  we  had  expected  had  happened,  and  that 
nothing  else  could  have  happened . 

Had  a  dish  of  tea  with  Robertson  at  York  House.  We 
were  interrupted  by  visitors,  as  Lady  R.  had  been  economis- 
ing coal  in  her  drawing-room,  so  there  was  not  much  chance 
of  a  chat,  but  we  discussed  a  few  things.  I  dined  with  the 
Scarbroughs  in  Park  Lane.  They  were  alone.  He  quite 
approves  of  the  mobile  battalions  of  Volunteers  being  called 
up  for  a  month's  training.  Looked  in  at  Londonderry 
House  after  dinner  and  heard  from  L.  that  the  Convention 
had  been  a  complete  frost,  and  that  the  voting  has  gone  on 
pretty  evenly,  North  against  South,  on  all  questions,  and  that 
there  was  no  approach  to  an  agreement. 

Tuesday,  March  26.  Things  looking  a  trifle  brighter  to-day, 


in  is  BACK  ON  OUR  1916  LINES  257 

and  it  is  thought  that  if  we  can  hold  up  the  enemy  to-day  we 
may  pull  through.  Lunched  with  Lady  Massereene  and 
found  also  there  Islington,  Lady  Curzon,  Lady  Elcho,  Lady 
Titchlield,  General  Branckcr,  and  Eric  Chaplin.  A  lot  of 
talk  and  chaff.  Walked  away  with  Islington,  who  told  me 
that  they  were  anxious  to  seize  Ispahan,  but  that  Marling 
was  holding  up  the  plan.  We  agreed  that  India  had  been 
much  uncovered  on  her  frontiers  by  recent  happenings. 
Monro,  -ays  Islington,  is  doing  well.  Montagu  will  be  back 
in  May.  Dined  with  the  Eric  Chaplins  at  Mansfield  House, 
18  New  Cavendish  Street;  a  charming  Adams  house  with 
well-proportioned  rooms,  all  very  dignified,  and  in  the  best 
style  of  architecture.  Lady  Nunburnholme  had  walked 
into  the  house  one  day  and  had  bought  it  for  her  daughter, 
.Mrs.  Chaplin.  We  had  two  pleasant  flying  officers  there. 
Chaplin  is  also  at  the  Air  Ministry.  Much  chaff  about  the 
lady  clerks  and  chauffeuses.  I  hear  that  the  Handley-Page 
which  bombed  Cologne  this  week  was  8|  hours  in  flight, 
which  is  exceptional.  They  hit  the  railway  station,  so  they 
say.  We  seem  to  have  beaten  the  Bodies  well  in  the  air 
because  their  men  are  badly  trained, — only  for  six  weeks, — 
and  the  star  fliers  came  on  the  scene  too  late.  But  Boche 
reports  claim  Boche  air  victories.  Chaplin  gave  us  some 
remarkable  old  brandy  of  1794.  It  was  laid  down  by  Lord 
Henry  Bentinck  years  ago.  Chaplin  had  '  given  away  ' 
two  dozen  of  it  to  Morgan  at  £5  a  bottle  when  Morgan 
bought  his  Bordeaux. 

Wednesday,  March  27.  After  a  week  of  fighting  our  3rd 
Army,  fighting  against  three  times  its  strength,  has 
been  forced  back  to  the  old  lines  which  we  held  at 
the  end  of  June  1916.  The  Bodies  claim  45,000  prisoners 
and  nearly  1000  guns.  Our  5th  Army  has  been  relieved 
by  the  French,  and  has,  I  fear,  been  badly  broken.  It  is 
the  worst  defeat,  in  the  history  of  the  Army.  I  am 
anxious  because  if  the  Boche  wedge  is  driven  much 
further,  our  left  Annie-  will  be  cm*  off  from  the  others. 

IV-tain    is  Bending   up   to   us   more  support    than   we  asked 
for.     There  is  a  certain  reduction  of  the  pressure  to-day, 


258     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

but  I  don't  think  that  it  will  last.  We  have  been 
fighting  73  Boche  divisions  with  about  a  third  of  their 
numbers.  It  is  the  result  which  the  War  Cabinet  has  been 
legislating  for  during  the  past  year.  Lunched  with  Mrs. 
Greville  and  found  the  Spanish  Ambassador,  Sir  Mark  and 
Lady  Sykes,  Sir  Fritz  Ponsonby,  Lady  Alington,  Lord 
Queenborough,  and  Lady  Cunard.  A  gay  party  in  spite  of  all. 
His  Excellency  does  not  think  that  the  Dutch  much  mind 
the  seizure  of  their  ships,  and  hope  to  profit  by  it.  Mark 
Sykes  and  I  agreed  that  we  should  now  attempt  to  take 
away  our  troops  from  Salonika.  I  told  the  story  of  Balfour, 
who,  on  being  informed  that  we  had  lost  1000  guns,  replied 
calmly,  '  Oh  really,  what  a  bore  !  '  This  story  brought  up 
one  by  Mark,  who  said  that  as  he  had  been  sent  by  the  W.O. 
to  keep  touch  with  the  F.O.,  he  thought  it  right  to  report 
himself  to  Balfour,  who  said  to  him,  '  But,  my  dear  Mark,  I 
thought  that  you  had  been  at  the  Foreign  Office  for  years  !  ' 
The  Ambassador  also  told  us  that  Cambon  had  grumbled 
to  Balfour  about  the  latter's  Zionist  plan,  and  had  reminded 
B.  that,  according  to  prophecies,  the  end  of  the  world  would 
follow  the  return  of  the  Jews  to  Palestine.  '  That  is  just 
the  point,'  rejoined  Balfour ;  '  think  how  interesting  it 
will  be  for  us  all  to  see  it  !  '  The  Spanish  Ambassador 
assured  me  that  the  U-boat  which  had  taken  refuge 
at  Ferrol  had  had  her  propellers  removed  and  a  guard 
set  over  her.  He  said  that  Spain  alone  had  refused  to 
allow  U-boats  to  put  to  sea  again  after  taking  refuge  in 
Spanish  ports. 

Thursday,  March  28.  The  situation  in  France  is  not  too 
favourable.  We  and  the  French  were  heavily  attacked 
yesterday  along  the  whole  front,  and  a  fresh  bombardment  of 
our  lines  east  of  Arras  opened  this  morning.  The  battle  now 
extends  from  the  Scarpe  to  the  Oise,  through  west  of  Monchy- 
Bucquoy  -  Beaumont  Hamel  -  the  Ancre  -  Morlancourt  - 
Chepilly-Harbonnieres-Rosieres.  Here  we  join  the  French, 
who  hold  L'Echelle  -  St.  Aurin  -  Beauvraignes  -  Lassigny  - 
Noyon  south  approaches,  and  the  left  bank  of  the  Oise.  The 
French  have  been  pressed  back  a  bit  east  of  Montdidier. 


1918]    THE  GERMANS  BEATEN  AT  ARRAS      259 

In  general,  we  are  attacked  on  a  front  of  100  kilometres* 
62$  miles,  and  large  numbers  were  again  reported  in  the 
attacks  on  the  whole  of  the  above  front  yesterday.  Later 
in  the  day  I  hear  that  the  French  have  lost  Montdidier. 
Lord  Curzon  of  Kedleston  sends  me  a  packet  of  documents 
from  Charles  Townshend  and  I  return  them.  The  War 
Cabinet  now  frantically  trying  to  do  all  the  things  which 
the  soldiers  implored  them  to  do  months  ago.     It  is  late. 

Sat  unlay,  March  30.  No  great  change  these  last  two  days. 
The  Germans  brought  ten  divisions  against  us  at  Arras  and 
eleven  to  the  south  of  it,  and  were  repulsed  with  great  loss. 
The  French  righting  hard  on  the  line  Noyon-Montdidier,  and 
this  afternoon  are  reported  to  have  retaken  the  latter  town. 
Lunched  with  Jack  Cowans  and  another  friend.  Jack  tells 
me  that  200  guns  went  out  to  replace  losses  during  eighteen 
hours  on  Saturday  last.  The  5th  Army  has  lost  50,000  tons 
of  ammunition.  He  does  not  know  what  else  he  will  have  to 
replace,  but  is  well  up  with  all  reserves  of  stores  and  supplies, 
and  has  just  given  the  Americans  3000  lorries.  Our  losses 
are  estimated  at  110,000  up  to  to-day.  The  Boche  losses 
are  reported  to  be  immense.  Officers  back  from  the  front 
Bay  that  our  guns  simply  mowed  down  great  masses  of 
<  Sermans  and  could  not  miss  them.  We  had  never  had  such 
a  mark.  Derby  tells  Jack  that  he  will  require  500,000  sets 
of  clothing  for  the  men  whom  they  expect  to  get  from  the 
in  u  Man-Power  Bill,  which  Macready  declares  to  be  satis- 
factory from  the  A.G.'s  point  of  view,  and  apparently 
includes  Ireland.  But  the  least  improvement  in  the  posit  ion 
will  set  the  Cabinet  shuftling  again,  and  they  are  sure  then 
to  c- 1 1 1  down  something.  Paris  said  to  be  quiet.  No  boat 
expected  i"  sail  for  the  next  two  or  three  weeks. 

Colonel  Balfour,  at  Southampton,  said  that  lie  had  just 
shipped  the  Too.OOOIh  horse  from  the  Docks  since  the  war 
began.  There  has  been  a  question  of  supplying  200,000 
of  old  hes  for  t  he  Volunteers,  but  apparently  the  wobblers 
have  now  drawn  bach  again,  and  do  n«.t  mean  to  call  up  the 
Volunteers.  I  appose  our  fool  of  a  Wax  Cabinet  think  that 
untrained  recruit*  are  just  as  good     Pooh  reported  today 


26o     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

in  several  papers  to  have  been  made  generalissime,  but  no 
official  announcement  yet,  and  Jack  says  that  the  Army 
Council  have  heard  nothing  of  it.  They  will,  no  doubt,  be 
the  last  to  hear  of  it.  Foch  a  good  man,  and  anything 
is  better  than  the  rotten  Versailles  plan.  Rawly  has  taken 
over  a  reconstituted  4th  Army,  and  all  his  Staff  of  ten 
generals  and  thirty  other  officers  at  Versailles  have  gone  off 
with  him.  Hope  that  they  have  enjoyed  their  holiday. 
Versailles  seems  to  be  putting  up  the  shutters,  which  is  a 
mercy  at  all  events.  The  preposterous  Versailles  plan  of 
disunity  of  command  would  have  lost  the  war. 

Sunday,  March  31.  Not  much  change  to-day.  The 
country,  though  greatly  moved  by  the  battle,  is  steady,  and 
only  awaits  the  orders  of  the  Government,  which  do  not 
come.  The  War  Cabinet  sit  all  day  and  are  much  rattled. 
L.  G.  reported  to  be  in  the  depths.  He  sends  a  panic  cable 
to  America.  The  King  back  from  three  days  in  France, 
where  his  visit  did  good.  The  soldiers  cry  out  to  him,  '  For 
God's  sake  send  us  men.'  The  Press  is  steady.  The  Daily 
Mail  suddenly  discovers  that  men  should  have  been  sent 
before.  The  Tories  pompous  and  hypocritical.  Every  one 
says  that  if  the  Cabinet  had  attended  to  me  these  mis- 
fortunes could  not  have  occurred. 

Monday,  April  1.  The  fighting  goes  on  along  the  whole 
front  from  Arras  down  to  Montdidier  and  Noyon.  There 
are  some  local  changes  without  great  importance,  but,  on 
the  whole,  to  our  advantage.  The  German  losses  are  by 
all  accounts  immense,  and  some  optimists  think  that  the 
enemy  has  suffered  so  much,  and  is  so  committed  to  the 
present  front  of  attack,  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  make 
another  big  attack  elsewhere.  Lunched  with  Lady  Beres- 
ford.  The  Admiral  very  well.  Lord  Lascelles  there, 
and  Blumenfeld  of  the  Daily  Express,  besides  a  lady  whose 
name  I  did  not  catch.  They  say  that  L.  G.  is  in  the  dumps, 
and  the  War  Cabinet  sits  continually.  Foch's  appoint- 
ment as  '  Co-ordinator,'  alias  General-in-Chief,  announced 
on  Saturday.  L.  G. — or  is  it  Clemenceau  ? — has  given  the 
command  to  Foch,  who  now  has  the  fate  of  our  Armies  in 


1918]         FOcll  GUARANTEES  AMIENS  26] 

his  hands.  L.  G.  lias  also  diverted  the  control  of  our 
Eastern  adventures  to  Versailles,  vide  Bonar  Law's  answer 
to  a  question  in  the  Commons  on  March  18;  but  as  Ver- 
sailles has  put  up  its  shutters,  I  do  not  know  who  now 
controls  our  knight -errants  in  the  East.  We  run  the 
danger  of  being  separated  from  the  French  and  driven 
back  upon  the  northern  Channel  ports.  The  German  fleet 
is  reported  to  have  been  out.  The  Volunteers  are  still  not 
called  out  for  service.  Jack  Cowans  told  me  the  other 
day  that  he  now  feeds  half  the  Army  through  Calais  and 
Boulogne,  and  the  other  half  through  Havre  and  Rouen. 

Charlie  B.  to-day  said  that  Hedworth  Meux  had  quite 
solemnly  warned  him  against  taking  a  female  typist,  as 
so  many  old  men  had  fallen  victims  to  them  !  The  Beres- 
fords  now  call  the  lady  The  Decree  Nisi !  Lady  B. 
stopped  in  her  car  by  a  policeman  the  other  day  for  using 
petrol  without  authority.  He  demanded  her  name.  She 
looked  out  at  him  furiously  and  said,  '  My  good  man, 
can't  you  see  that  I  'm  an  imbecile  ?  '  Policeman  so  taken 
aback  that  he  dropped  his  pencil  and  notebook  and  told 
the  chauffeur  to  drive  on. 

Tuesday,  April  2.  I  wrote  yesterday  an  article  about 
American  aid  in  the  war,  and  to-day  another  about  the 
situation  in  Italy.  Gwynne  and  I  both  hear  that  Haig  is 
doomed,  and  suppose  that  he  will  be  the  next  scapegoat, 
on  the  pretext  that  he  said  he  could  hold  on  if  attacked. 
But,  after  all,  he  is  still  holding  on  !  Not  much  news  from 
the  battle  to-day,  though  there  has  been  plenty  of  fighting. 
The  enemy  appears  to  me  to  be  collecting  himself  for  his 
next  spring.  Foch  has  guaranteed  that  Amiens  will  not  be 
taken.  It  is  said  that  if  we  can  hold  on  over  Friday 
next  we  six aild  be  safe,  but  I  distrust  all  opinions  of  men 
now  at  the  top. 

Wulm-sthty  ami  Thursilayl  AfrU  :i  and  -1.  Spent  these 
two  days  in  studying  the  situation,   and    in    writing   for  the 

M.I'.    General  Deseino  Lunched  with  me, and  we  discussed 
Russia,  without  much  profit.     !!<•  wants  me  to  help  to  get 

Russian  officers  here  permission  to  be  employed  as  officers, 


262      GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

saying  that  we  intended  to  make  them  serve  as  privates. 
He  also  said  that  a  short  time  ago  the  rumour  had  spread 
that  we  meant  to  seize  all  Russian  private  accounts  in  the 
banks,  and  that  even  General  Yermoloff  had  believed  it, 
and  had  drawn  out  his  money  and  went  about  with  all  of 
it  in  his  pockets  !  I  said  that  Yermoloff  had  been  among 
us  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  that  I  was  disappointed 
that  he  did  not  know  us  better. 

Thursday  evening  I  dined  with  Robertson  at  York 
House.  Only  Lady  R.  and  Colonel  Lucas  there.  I  found 
that  R.  and  I  are  fully  in  agreement  about  the  critical 
character  of  the  situation  in  France.  We  had  both  heard 
that  the  German  attack  had  recommenced  to-day  with 
great  forces  south  of  the  Somme,  and  had  no  doubt  that 
their  game  was,  as  before,  to  separate  us  from  the  French, 
to  drive  us  up  against  the  northern  Channel  ports  after 
capturing  Amiens,  and  then  to  ring  us  up  securely  and  turn 
upon  Paris  and  the  French,  with  an  additional  advance 
from  the  Rheims  front.  We  discussed  what  we  should 
do.  I  thought  that  if  Amiens  could  hold  for  certain,  we 
were  all  right,  and  that  nothing  counted  for  me  so  much 
as  the  preservation  of  our  touch  and  co-operation  with  the 
French  Armies  and  the  prolongation  of  the  war,  if  neces- 
sary, by  a  retreat  into  France.  I  thought  that  if  we  were 
separated  from  the  French,  we  should  be  shut  up  in  the 
north  and  be  held  by  an  inferior  force  till  the  Germans 
found  it  convenient  to  attack  us  ;  that  we  should  not  be 
able  to  get  out,  as  the  German  lines  on  our  east  front  were 
already  strong,  and  that  the  Somme  would  also  be  held 
against  us  when  the  French  went  back.  I  did  not  think 
that  we  could  get  our  Armies  home  from  this  coast,  and 
doubted  if  we  could  feed  them  there. 

R.  thought  that  the  success  of  a  Boche  attack  on  Amiens 
was  worth  300,000  casualties  to  him,  and  that  he  was 
evidently  out  for  it.  He  thought  that  the  week's  lull  in 
the  fighting  had  been  no  more  than  was  normal,  as  in  part 
of  the  front  the  Germans  had  advanced  thirty-five  miles, 
and  that  what  was  coming  now  was  what  had  been  in  his 


1918]  THE  OLD  NIGHTMARE  263 

mind  ever  since  1914,  only  fortunately  the  Boche  had 
trotted  off  to  Russia  and  left  us  the  initiative,  from  which 
we  might  have  profited  had  the  Cabinet  done  their  duty 
about  Man-Power.  Now  the  nightmare  was  on  us  again, 
and  he  did  not  see  how  a  great  retreat  could  be  accom- 
plished now.  The  Boches  were  only  ten  miles  from  Amiens 
and  thirty  from  Abbeville,  whence  to  the  sea — or  at  least 
from  St.  Yalery — there  were  no  bridges.  We  ended  by 
agreeing  that  the  whole  matter  hinged  on  whether  Amiens 
could  be  held,  and  that  as  neither  of  as  knew  precisely  the 
forces  which  we  had  to  defend  the  Somme-Montdidier 
sector,  we  were  not  in  a  position  to  decide  whether  the 
retreat  from  our  northern  lines  was  or  was  not  necessary. 
In  either  case  I  said  that  I  supposed  that  R.  would  refuse 
to  express  an  opinion  if  called  in.  He  said  that  this  was 
so.  He  had  always  resisted  the  running  about  of  the  War 
Cabinet  to  ask  other  people  their  views  while  he  was  C.I.G.S., 
and  he  would  now  take  the  same  position  in  justice  to  his 
successor.  He  had  been  out  of  office  for  two  months, 
and,  besides,  could  not  venture  to  advise  things  which 
would  be  passed  on  to  others  for  execution.  With  this 
I  agreed,  and  quoted  Wellington's  answer  to  Castlereagh 
in  a  similar  case  in  Sept.  1808.  The  two  cases  were  much 
alike. 

R.  wondered  how  the  various  generals  in  France  were 
getting  on.  Petain,  said  R.,  had  moved  from  Compiegne 
to  Provins,  which  was  a  long  way  from  Foch  and  Haig. 
R.  knew  that  Wilson  had  signed  the  Versailles  paper 
advocating  the  Aleppo  campaign  the  other  day,  and  R. 
wondered  how  he  would  like  it  when  it  came  out.  Allenby, 
said  El.,  would  not  know  now  what  the  devil  to  be  at, 
and  must  be  scratching  his  head.  R.  also  did  not  know 
what  on  earth  Marshall  was  up  to  in  his  pursuit  up  the 

Euphrates   so   far   from    IJagdad,  and    lie  saw  no  object    in 

the  advance. 

R.  says  that  he  has  500,000  men  under  him  in  the  Eastern 
Command,  but  few  tii  to  fight,  .'111(1  lie  lias  only  the  defended 
portc  to  look  after.    lie  is  not  responsible  for  Borne  Defence, 


264     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

as  the  public  think.  He  has  sent  off  some  45,000  of  the 
A4  boys  at  18|,  and  is  very  sore  about  it.  He  said,  '  There 
is  no  Home  Defence  to-night.'  He  does  not  know  how 
he  can  reply  to  the  new  German  guns  which  are  bom- 
barding Paris,  at  a  range  of  seventy-five  miles,  with  the 
few  old  9"2's  at  Dover.  We  thought  it  a  pity  that  Eric 
Geddes  had  the  Jellicoe  case  on  his  conscience,  as  he  was  a 
sound  practical  fellow  of  the  type  we  want.  The  pretence 
of  the  Kindergarten  is  that  it  is  a  case  of  Military  versus 
Civil  Government.  This  made  us  laugh  a  good  deal,  for 
all  that  soldiers  have  been  trying  to  do  has  been  to  run 
their  own  business,  not  the  Government's,  and  this  is 
exactly  what  the  pack  of  politicians  resent.  They  cannot 
see  the  difference  between  peace  and  war,  and  insist  on 
running  a  business  of  which  they  know  nothing,  just  to 
show  that  Civil  Government  is  supreme.  Hinc  illce  lachri- 
mce  !  Anyhow,  I  said  to  R.,  every  mother's  son  of  them 
must  know  in  their  hearts  that  you  were  right  all  through. 
Friday,  April  5.  About  twenty  Boche  divisions  attacked 
us  and  the  French  south  of  the  Somme  yesterday.  They 
took  Hamel  from  us,  and  Morisel  and  another  village  from 
the  French,  and  failed  again  against  us  at  Albert,  but  they 
are  evidently  going  on  and  at  the  same  old  objective. 
Wrote  an  article  on  the  danger  of  the  situation,  expanding 
what  I  had  said  before.  L.  G.  has  been  over  to  France  and 
returned  yesterday.  I  hope  he  likes  it.  Lunched  with 
Lady  Cunard,  now  at  44  Grosvenor  Square :  Judge  Lindsay 
of  America  and  his  wife.  They  seemed  very  nice  people, 
and  he  spoke  well  and  took  a  fine  line  about  the  President 
and  American  action.  Mrs.  Greville  also  there,  the  Lionel 
Guests,  and  Mr.  Mitchell,  the  U.S.  food  man  over  here. 
He  admitted  that  the  great  difficulty  was  that  all  depart- 
ments played  for  their  own  hands,  and  that  it  was  a 
pure  toss  up  which  got  the  ear  of  a  Prime  Minister  in 
any  country.  He  wanted  us  to  kill  our  beasts  now  to 
help  tonnage  while  the  U.S.  troops  were  being  rushed 
over.  The  Duchess  of  Rutland  and  Lady  Diana  came  in 
later,  also  Wolkoff .     All  enthusiastic  about  rabbit  breeding. 


1918]  FAGALDE  ON  THE  POSITION  265 

Lady  D.  dubious  about  what  rabbits  eat.     I  believe  she 
thinks  them  carnivorous. 

Saturday,  April  6.  No  further  news  of  importance. 
Lunched  with  Fagalde  and  had  an  interesting  talk.  He 
thought  that  the  distribution  of  the  Franco-British  reserves 
on  March  18,  four  days  before  the  attack,  was  very  interest- 
ing to  study.  We  then  had  news  thai  several  German  attacks 
were  mounted,  namely,  at  Yprcs,  Cambrai,  St.  Quentin, 
Rheims.  and  in  Lorraine.  Consequently  the  British  Re- 
Berves  were  scattered  along  the  front,  while  the  French  were 
in  two  main  masses,  namely,  on  the  Rheims  and  Lorraine 
fronts,  with  a  thin  ohaplet  of  divisions  between  them. 
Pelle.  with  his  Army  Corps,  the  5th  I  think,  had  come  up 
first  to  succour  Gough.  It  has  been  stationed  north  of 
Paris.  Then  Corps  from  the  Rheims  sector,  Chalons,  etc. 
The  relief  had  been  worked  out  beforehand  between  Haig 
and  Petain,  but  took  some  time. 

Actually  there  were  now  14  French  divisions  on  the 
battle  front  and  22  in  reserve.  A  very  good  result  in 
the  time.  Fayolle  commanded  the  whole  lot.  There 
were  three  more  divisions  on  their  way,  and  they  would 
arrive  in  four  days.  Then  we  should  have  between  us 
as  many  as  the  86  which  the  Boches  had  used,  and  he 
\\  as  consequently  fairly  happy  about  the  situation.  Rawly 
had  reconstituted  his  old  4th  Army,  and  was  holding 
the  angle  between  the  Somme  and  the  Ancre,  which  was 
short  but  important.  Gough 's  5th  Army  were  refreshing 
at  Abbeville,  and  all  worn  divisions  were  being  sent  to  him 
to  be  made  smart  again.  Ivor  Maxse  was  there  with  the 
Statfs  of  the  two  Army  Corps  to  help  him  to  put  things  to 
rights.  The  French  would  soon  have  four  Armies  on  the 
battlefield,  namely,  1st  and  3rd, — those  now  fighting — and 
the  5th  and  Kith  behind.  A  reaction  Mas  being  prepared 
and  would  In-  ready  in  some  ten  days;  it  would  probably 
act  on  the  Lassigny-Noyon  front.  I  hoped  that  we  should 
gain  no  ground  before  1 1 1 « -  Wax  Cabinet's  new  Man  l\>\ver 
Bill  w*b  presented,  for,  if  wo  did,  the  Cabinet  would  begin 
jinking  at  once. 


266     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

F.  was  very  satisfied  with  the  new  Man-Power  Bill,  which 
would  give  us  1,500,000  men.  He  and  I  had  only  asked  for 
900,000,  so  we  ought  to  be  satisfied,  he  said !  We  laughed 
a  good  deal  about  L.  G.'s  fears  of  a  social  revolution  and 
all  the  rubbish  about  it  of  which  he  delivered  himself  at 
Versailles.     There  is  not  one  murmur  in  the  country  ! 

F.  said  that  Foch  was  at  Beauvais.  He  was  not  general- 
issime,  and  only  had  the  duty  of  co-ordinating  the  opera- 
tions. Haig  and  Petain  still  remained  supreme  in  their  old 
spheres,  and  if  there  was  any  trouble  the  Prime  Ministers 
had  to  be  called  in.  Hence  the  visits  of  Clemenceau  and 
of  L.  G.  to  Beauvais,  no  doubt.  But  Foch  was  creating  a 
Central  Staff,  and  Weygand  was  with  him.  We  laughed 
about  the  Versailles  Military  Board. 

F.  thought  that  the  Germans  were  now  entering  upon  the 
second  stage  of  the  normal  attack,  when  the  first  impetus 
had  died  away  and  the  advance  became  slow  and  laborious. 
Even  if  100  divisions  had  been  used  and  there  were  still 
100  more,  these  latter  could  not  replace  the  others  under 
three  months,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  divisions  were  being 
called  up  from  all  parts  of  the  German  line  to  replace  losses. 
Even  on  the  other  German  fronts,  where  attacks  were 
mounted,  there  was  no  accumulation  of  reserves,  and  we 
agreed  that  there  was  nothing  for  the  Boche  to  do  but 
to  continue.  F.  thought,  with  me,  that  his  aim  was  still 
to  separate  us,  but  expected  him  to  hold  the  French  and  to 
try  to  annihilate  us.  If  his  attack  failed  he  might  straighten 
and  try  to  rearrange  his  line,  but  not  go  back  far,  as  it  would 
be  such  an  admission  of  failure. 

F.  thought  that  the  Boche,  if  he  failed,  would  either 
offer  to  negotiate  or  dash  off  with  a  few  fresh  divisions  to 
attack  Italy  or  Salonika,  pretending  that  these  things  were 
his  real  object,  and  we  both  thought  Italy  would  have  his 
preference.  But  it  would  deceive  nobody,  and,  least  of  all, 
Germany,  which  was  beginning  to  read  in  the  Press  of  the 
'  mountains  of  dead  '  of  its  troops.  F.  also  said  that  we 
had  lost  140,000  men  up  to  date.  He  did  not  know  the 
French  losses,   but  thought  them  not  very  heavy.     The 


1918]  FOCH'S  OPTIMISM  267 

Germans  had  been  two  and  three  and  even  four  to  one 
against  us  sometimes,  and  had  therefore  used  up  more 
troops  than  we  had,  and  we  had  more  intact  reserves.  F. 
rather  approved  of  Marshall's  good  coup  on  the  Euphrates, 
and  his  long  pursuit  up  that  river.  He  had  destroyed  a 
Turkish  division,  and  had  also  come  upon  an  accumulation 
of  preparations  for  a  Turkish  attack  and  had  destroyed  it. 
It  was  just  as  well  for  Marshall  to  know  for  certain  how 
these  things  stood,  and  there  was  no  better  way  of  knowing 
it  than  going  to  look.  Marshall  was  now  returning  from 
his  foray  and  would  send  two  Indian  divisions  to  Allenby, 
war  trained  troops,  and  Allenby  would  send  two  of  his  white 
divisions  to  Europe.  F.  thought  that  Allenby 's  raid  upon 
the  Hedjaz  line  had  not  been  very  successful. 

We  talked  of  Foch's  optimism.  F.  said  that  Foch's  accounts 
of  a  situation  were  usually  rather  prophetic  than  literally 
accurate.  In  Maine  days  Foch  had  always  told  JofTre 
that  all  was  well  and  would  be  better  next  day,  even  when 
he  had  lost  some  miles  of  ground.  He  always  sent  orders 
to  his  Corps  to  attack  the  next  day.  All  his  commanders 
said  that  their  men  were  done  up,  but  they  got  orders  to 
attack  all  the  same.  Finally  the  11th  Corps  commander 
came  personally  and  said  that  he  was  so  depleted  that  he 
could  not  hold  the  line  allotted  to  him,  still  less  attack. 
But  next  morning  he,  also,  got  his  orders  to  attack,  and 
fortunately  the  Boches  ran  away  at  last.  It  was  Foch's 
idea  that  his  will  was  superior  to  that  of  any  one  opposing 
him.  and  that  if  he  kept  on  long  enough  the  enemy  would 
go  away. 

In  the  evening  went  to  Lady  Cunard's  box  to  hear  Carmen. 
Quite  good.  Drury  Lane  crammed.  An  opera  that  I  love. 
It  was  fche  lit  night  of  the  season,  and  Beecham,  who  was 
conduct  ing,  was  called  for,  and  made  a  little  speech.  Lady 
Bingham,  Mrs.  Ernest  Cunard,  the  Droghedas,  Leverton 
Harris,  Mi.  .Mitchell  the  American,  Judge  Lindsay  and  his 
wife,  Lady Annesley ,  and  a  few  nunc,  while  others  looked  in 

between   t  he  acts. 

Sunday,   April  7.     Sir  Hubert  CJough   telephoned  in  the 
VOL.  n.  T 


268     GEKMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

morning  and  came  up  to  dinner  at  Maryon.  He  had  been 
sent  home  by  order  of  the  War  Cabinet,  who  are  searching 
for  military  scapegoats  in  order  to  deflect  criticism  from 
themselves.  It  would  have  been  more  just  if  they  had 
sent  themselves  home.  He  was  looking  uncommonly  fit 
and  well,  and  told  me  all  the  story  of  the  5th  Army  during 
the  days  of  March  21-28.     His  forces  were  : — 

8th  Army  Corps  .     .  58th,  18th,  and  12th  Divisions  ; 

Butler.  2nd  and  3rd  Cavalry  Divisions. 

18th  Army  Corps  .     .  36th,  30th,  and  61st  Divisions  ; 

Ivor  Maxse.  20th  Division  in  reserve. 

19th  Army  Corps  .     .  24th  and  66th  Divisions  ; 

Watt.  50th  Div.  and  1st  Cav.  Div.  in  res. 

7th  Army  Corps  .     .   16th,  21st,  and  7th  Divisions  ; 

Congreve.  39th  Division  in  reserve. 

Total :   14  divisions,  about  100,000  rifles,  and  1500  guns. 

He  was  reinforced  by  one  more  division,  the  8th  I  think, 
in  the  evening  of  the  23rd.  He  had  against  him  Von  Hutier's 
18th  Army,  with  four  Army  Corps  of  40  divisions,  of  which 
23  in  first  line  and  17  in  close  support,  with  3500  guns. 
These  figures  are  confirmed  by  our  printed  G.H.Q.  Intelli- 
gence Report  which  he  showed  to  me.  Gough's  front 
extended  for  40  miles,  and  was  too  thinly  held.  No  more 
reserves  were  available  for  him.  His  troops  were  insuffi- 
ciently trained  and  rested,  and,  on  an  average,  only  one 
week's  training  had  been  given  to  them  since  Jan.  20,  when 
they  took  over  the  line.  He  had  instructions  that  it  would 
be  better  to  lose  ground  than  men.  Also,  the  reorganisation 
had  only  just  been  completed,  and  the  change  from  12  bat- 
talions to  9  in  all  divisions  had  greatly  disturbed  people, 
besides  reducing  the  infantry  by  25  per  cent,  of  its  strength. 
He  had  also  reported  that  the  Press  attacks  on  generals 
were  liable  to  undermine  the  confidence  of  the  men. 

Gough  had  known  for  a  month  that  he  would  probably 
be  attacked,  and  Petain  had  been  sure  he  would  be  ever 
since  Von  Hutier's  Army  appeared  in  Gough's  front.  Gough 
had  a  well-placed  outpost  line,  or  forward  zone,  running 
from  Amigny  along  the  river  Oise  to  Moy,  thence  west  of 


1918]  GOUGH  ON  THE  BATTLE  209 

St.  Quentin.  and  so  along  the  road  to  Le  Catelet.  It  had 
strong  posts  which  mutually  flanked  each  other.  His  battle 
zone  was  behind  this,  running  past  Tergnier,  Essignol,  Roupy, 
.Mussemy,  Hargicourt,  Lempire.  past  Epehy,  to  the  north 
of  Gouzeaucourt,  and  thence  to  Metz-en-Couture.  He  had 
11  divisions  in  front  line  and  3  in  reserve,  plus  his  cavalry. 
He  had  never  heard  such  a  bombardment  as  that  which 
opened  on  him  on  March  21.  There  was  a  dense  mist,  and 
the  Boche  masses  ilowed  in  between  his  outpost  positions, 
cutting  the  wire  and  isolating  the  posts  which  were  turned 
and  captured,  though  many  held  out  for  long  after  being 
surrounded.  The  firing  was  all  done  at  50  yards,  and  no 
mutual  support  was  possible.  On  the  Oise  front  the  enemy 
prepared  bridges  and  rafts  overnight.  The  two  months  of 
dry  weather  had  made  all  the  marshes  by  the  river  dry. 
His  men  had  fought  well,  but  by  the  end  of  the  second  day 
the  enemy  had  broken  four  gaps  in  his  battle  line  by  taking 
the  fortified  points  of  Tergnier,  Essignol-le-Grand,  Massemy, 
and  Hargicourt,  and  he  had  to  decide  whether  to  fight  on 
where  he  stood  and  be  broken,  or  to  go  back  fighting.  He 
chose  the  latter  course,  which  was  in  consonance  with  his 
instructions  and  really  the  only  course  practicable,  as  he  was 
overwhelmed  by  numbers. 

After  the  8th  Division,  his  first  reinforcement  was  a 
division  sent  by  Franchet  dEsperey.  Then  Pelle  came 
up  with  his  Corps,  but  the  French  would  not  place  them- 
Belves  under  his  command.  Gough  claims  that  his  Army, 
,i-  a  whole,  was  never  broken,  and  that  it  retained  its 
alignment  during  the  eight  days,  March  21  to  29.  He 
lost  about  60  per  cent,  of  his  strength  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing,  and  some  GOO  guns.  He  brought 
irith  liiin  Mime  of  Max>e's  notes,  which  mentioned  pal 
ii<ularly  the  fine  conduct  of  the  61st  Division,  under 
Colin  Mackenzie.  Maxse  mentions  the  2nd  Wilts  and 
1 0th  Manchestere  of  the  30th  Division  b  ;  having  heroically 
resi.-t<<!  five  hours  of  furious  bombardment  and  then  the 
attack  of  two  German  divisions.  Their  H  (,».  in  the  redoubt 
line  were  holding  out  and  lighting  hard  several  hours  after 
they    were  surrounded   by  masses  of  the  enemy.     Several 


27o     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

others  held  their  redoubt  line  till  late  in  the  evening,  and  the 
division  fought  steadily  back  to  Moreuil,  which  it  reached  on 
the  29th.  The  36th  Ulster  Division  had  had  three  battalions 
overwhelmed  in  the  forward  zone  similarly,  and  men  of  the 
12th  Royal  Irish  were  still  holding  out  in  the  racecourse 
redoubt  after  24  hours  of  incessant  fighting.  The  1st  Royal 
Inniskilling  Fusiliers  at  Fontaine-les-Clercs  repulsed  12 
desperate  attacks.  The  retreat  was  effected  in  good  order, 
and  there  were  daily  rearguard  actions.  Maxse  notes  that 
some  of  his  artillery  served  under  French  generals  in  the 
'  last  critical  days  '  of  these  operations. 

One  of  Gough's  papers  gives  a  German  order  on  Field 
Strengths,  dated  Jan.  26  last.  This  shows  infantry 
battalions  to  be  870  all  ranks,  or  1004  with  their  M.G.  com- 
panies. This  is  called  the  Feldstdrke,  and  the  term  '  fighting 
strength  '  is  no  longer  to  be  employed.  Evidence  shows  that 
in  the  northern  portion  of  the  battle  front  from  the  river 
Sensee  to  the  Cambrai-Bapaume  road,  9  miles,  there  were 
9  Boche  divisions  in  fine  and  8  in  reserve.  On  the  front 
from  the  Cambrai-Bapaume  road  to  La  Vacquerie  and  La 
Fere  there  were  23  divisions  in  fine  and  17  in  close  reserve. 
Therefore  we  were  opposed  by  61  divisions  on  the  battle  front 
on  March  21.  A  further  22  divisions  came  up  later.  It  is 
reported  that  the  Crown  Prince's  Group  of  Armies  comprises 
the  Argonne  group  under  the  orders  of  the  16th  Corps  Staff. 
This  group  extends  as  far  east  as  Varennes. 

So  far  as  I  can  make  out  from  Gough's  account,  the  retreat 
of  the  5th  Army  before  overwhelming  numbers  was  the  only 
course  open  after  the  four  holes  had  been  punched  in  his 
battle  line.  He  is  rather  sore  at  being  sent  no  reserves 
except  the  one  division.  He  told  me  that  Haig  had  told  him 
that  he  expects  to  be  sent  home  in  a  week's  time.  Drove 
Gough  down  to  London.  Gough  had  taken  over  two  Corps 
from  Byng,  Dec.  18  ;  one  Corps  front,  18,000  yards,  from  the 
French  on  Jan.  20  ;  and  the  remaining  Corps  front, 
30,000  yards,  about  Feb.  15. 

Monday,  April  8.  Went  down  to  see  Lord  Haldane,  who 
is  just  back  from  the  north.  Found  that  he  had  been 
forgathering  with  L.  G.,  Derby,  and  others,  and  had  evi- 


1918]  THE  GERMANS  ATTACK  ON  THE  LYS    271 

dently  been  drawn  over  to  their  support  by  L.  G.'s  usual 
blandishments.  So  we  were  not  so  much  in  accord  as  usual. 
He  does  not  think  that  Haig  will  be  relieved.  Lunched  with 
Mrs.  Greville  and  found  the  Wrangels,  Max-Midler,  YVolkoff, 
and  Mrs.  Brinton.  Discussed  German  food  supplies,  and 
found  that  YVrangel  and  Max-Midler  agree  that  Germany 
is  better  off  than  a  year  ago,  and  can  go  on,  though  wanting 
much.  Max-Muller  expects  that  Germany  and  Austria  will 
get  little  from  the  Ukraine  as  there  are  no  elevators,  and  the 
peasants  have  been  using  their  grain  to  make  liquor  secretly 
since  the  vodka  order  came  out.  Three  ships  that  went  to 
Odessa  from  Constantinople  came  back  empty.  The  sup- 
posed supplies  do  not  exist. 

Tuesday,  April  9.  I  had  written  an  article  yesterday 
defending  the  5th  Army  against  their  traducers,  but  the 
Press  Bureau,  under  orders  I  suppose,  took  care  that  it 
should  not  appear  to-day,  so  L.  G.  no  doubt  intends  to 
place  the  blame  on  the  soldiers  in  his  opening  speech  when 
Parliament  reassembles  to-day,  and  does  not  wish  the  other 
side  to  be  heard  until  ho  has  manufactured  an  opinion  in 
his  favour.  I  went  down  to  the  31. P.  office  and  had  a 
talk  with  Gwynne.  He  wants  me  to  write  about  L.  G.'s 
speech  when  the  full  report  is  in  to-morrow.  There  is 
nothing  new  from  the  front  to-day.  The  enemy  is  still 
piling  up  troops  and  guns  for  the  decisive  stage  of  the 
battle.  Gough  told  me  on  Sunday  that  all  the  roads  and 
railways  leading  to  the  battle  zone  were  packed  with 
German  troops  coming  up.  There  is  going  to  be  the  biggest 
battle  ever  known,  and  we  stand  in  a  rotten  situation. 

\Yulnr.sthiii,  April  10.  Second  Phase.  Yesterday  the 
Boches  opened  a  new  attack  upon  us  in  the  Armentieres- 
La  Pncinfo  sector,  and  penetrated  to  Laventie  on  an  eleven- 
mile  front.    Von  Quest's  0th  Army,  I  suppose,  and  it  may 

have   twelve   divisions.      A    nasty  jar.     To-day   the   attack 

has  extended  north  to  the  Meesiues  Ridge,  and  the  Boches 
have  token  pari  of  'Plug  Street'  (Ploegsteert).  The 
Me-  in     Ridge  holds,  but  evidently  it  is  an  important  new 

Opening    and    will     probably    extend    to    L'assehendaele.       I 

nine  it  i-  intended  t>>  divert  our  reserves  in  the  south. 


272     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

Lunched  at  Londonderry  House,  and  discussed  the  Con- 
vention and  Conscription  for  Ireland  with  L. 

Thursday,  April  11.  Went  on  to  the  Marlborough  Club 
to  see  Sir  George  Arthur.  I  bet  him  a  fiver  that  he  would 
not  name  the  two  things  that  I  had  in  my  pockets  in  a 
thousand  guesses.  They  were  six  plover's  eggs  and  two  old 
letters  from  Kaiser  Bill !  Arthur  told  me  that  Trenchard 
was  giving  up  the  Chief  of  the  Staff  of  the  new  Royal  Air 
Force.  A  real  bad  business  as  Trenchard  is  a  tip -top 
man.  It  is  the  same  old  political  game,  and  the  country 
is  being  ruined  by  it.  Arthur  pointed  out  to  me  that  K. 
had  laid  down  70  divisions,  and  that  we  had  never  had 
them  in  France ;  and  that  while  K.'s  divisions  were  12 
to  13  battalions  of  some  23,000  all  ranks,  ours  were  now 
of  9  to  10  battalions  and  much  lower  establishments.  That 
meant  that  we  had  dropped  70x3  battalions —2 10 — the 
equivalent  of  23  of  our  present  divisions  !  I  also  make 
out  that  the  white  infantry  now  in  our  Eastern  theatres 
would  equal  the  17  German  divisions  which  have  just 
attacked  us. 

The  country  and  Parliament  are  so  utterly  ignorant  of 
military  affairs,  and  are  so  misled  by  L.  G.'s  accounts  of 
the  situation,  that  I  daresay  some  believe  his  explanation 
in  the  House  on  April  9,  to  the  effect  that  our  Eastern 
adventures  were  but  little  drain  on  us.  I  expect  that 
history  will  find  the  detachment  of  over  a  million  men  on 
these  futile  Eastern  campaigns  inexcusable.  Also,  he  de- 
clared that  the  Allies  largely  counted  on  America  '  to  make 
up  for  the  Russian  defection,'  and  expressed  his  grievous 
disappointment  about  it.  This  is  delicious  !  The  Boches 
had  74  divisions  in  the  East  last  June,  and  the  Austrians 
over  40.  Tom  Bridges,  returning  with  Balfour  that  month, 
told  the  War  Cabinet — vide  this  diary  for  June  17,  1917 — 
that  the  Americans  would  send  their  first  division  over  in 
July  1917,  and  thereafter  not  more  than  one  division  in 
a  month  through  1917  and  1918.  This  would  have  given 
9  American  divisions  by  March.1     How  would  this  have 

1  Compare  p.  487.     The  estimate  of  General  Bridges  proved  correct. 


1918]         POLITICAL  PREVARICATIONS 


-/j 


made  up  for  the  74  Boche  divisions  set  free,  and  the  40 
Austrian  ?  Yet  L.  G.  tells  the  Commons  that  the  Allies 
counted  on  '  a  large  American  Army  in  the  spring  !  '  It 
is  with  such  tales  that  L.  G.  deceives  the  country.  All  his 
line  now  is  to  show  that  wo  were  as  strong  as  the  Bochea 
in  the  West,1  and  expected  the  attack  when  it  came,  and 
that,  ergo, — he  leaves  this  to  be  inferred — the  soldiers  wero 
all  born  fools.  Yet  there  is  not  one  man  in  Parliament  with 
the  knowledge  or  the  courage  to  denounce  and  expose  him, 
and  we  critics  outside  are  muzzled  by  the  Censor. 

Went  on  to  have  a  growl  with  Robertson  at  York  House. 
He  confirms  the  Trenehard  story.  It  is  a  great  misfortune, 
especially  at  this  juncture.  R.  says  that  he  is  told  that 
live  of  our  divisions  have  been  so  cut  up  in  the  recent 
fighting  that  we  must  count  them  out.  We  are  much  per- 
turbed by  the  march  of  things  in  France.  R.  much  dreads 
the  effect  of  the  new  Boche  success  in  the  north.  R.  now 
agreed  that  we  might  lose  the  war  if  we  let  go  the  Channel 
ports,  but  we  must  lose  it  if  we  are  separated  from  the 
French.  This  is  about  my  idea  of  it.  He  says  the  French 
want  us  to  dig  a  Hindenburg  Hue  parallel  with  and  behind 
our  present  line.  We  thought  that  if  wo  were  separated 
from  the  French,  the  latter  would  give  in. 

Friday,  Aj>ril  12.  The  new  Military  Service  Bill  has 
been  debated  since  Tuesday  last.  It  raises  the  age  to 
fifty-six,  conscripts  Ireland,  takes  in  ministers  of  religion 
toi  non-combatant  service,  and  gives  large  powers  to  the 
Minister  of  National  Service  to  abolish  exemptions  and  call 
up  blocks  of  men  by  the  'clean  cut '  by  age.  Very  drastic, 
but,  alas,  behind  time  by  six  months!  It  seems  likely 
to  lie  passed,  because  people  are  thoroughly  alarmed  at  last. 

Sir  V.  K.  Smith  sends  me  his  book  on  his  journey  to 
America. 

1  The   Prenoh  G.Q.Q.  flgun       turn    thai    the  Germans  were   200, I 

i he  \iii.     in  ill    We  I   in  rifle  and  maohini  n  tfa 

mi  .hm.  I.  191  Unerican  official    tat  ■  •   thai    it"    German 

riority  in  nil'  :  000  on    Ipril  I.  1018,  and  thai  the 

Allies  did  od  attain   to     uperiority  in  i  '!>  until  the  latter  pari 

of  ,1  I 


274     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

Saturday,  April  13.  The  fighting  in  the  north  continues 
to  go  against  us,  though  our  troops  are  fighting  splendidly. 
It  is  said  now  that  110  German  divisions  in  all  have  been 
identified,  and  that  28  are  in  the  Armentieres  battle,  of 
which  6  on  the  Ploegsteert-Messines  side,  12  in  the  centre 
who  have  now  reached  Merville,  and  some  10  to  12  in  the 
south  aiming  at  Bethune.  The  aim  apparently  is  to 
outflank  the  Vimy  position  from  the  north. 

Sunday,  April  14.  No  great  change.  Robertson  sends 
me  up  his  views  before  going  to  church.  He  is  satisfied 
that  the  right  thing  is  to  stick  to  the  Frenchmen.  He  says 
that  if  the  Boche  gets  Hazebrouck  or  the  Kemmel-Mont 
des  Cats  heights,  the  Ypres  salient  lot  will  feel  very  uncom- 
fortable. However,  I  am  not  yet  convinced  that  we  are 
not  going  to  stay  out  the  Boche,  overwhelmingly  strong 
though  his  attack  is. 

Monday,  April  15.  My  strong  condemnation  of  L.  G. 
and  my  refutation  of  his  excuses  in  the  H.  of  C.  on  April 
9  did  not  come  out  to-day,  and  I  hear  that  the  Censor 
is  holding  it  up.  A  long  talk  with  Lord  Esher  in  Tilney 
Street.  He  is  just  back  from  Scotland.  We  reviewed 
the  whole  situation  together,  and  faced  all  the  consequences 
frankly,  being  more  or  less  in  agreement.  His  last  news 
from  G.H.Q.  was  that  there  were  now  111  German  divi- 
sions on  the  whole  battle  front.  E.  very  critical  of  the 
French  for  giving  away  the  young  Emperor  Karl's  letter 
to  Prince  Sixte  de  Bourbon,  stating  that  he  would  support 
France's  claim  to  Alsace-Lorraine.  It  was  a  pity,  thought 
E.}  to  expose  the  fact  that  we  had  such  an  important 
friend  in  the  enemy's  camp. 

Tuesday,  April  16.  Severe  fighting  still  going  on  round 
Merville,  Bailleul,  and  Wulverghem. 

Wednesday,  April  17.  My  article  on  Georgian  excuses 
came  out  to-day,  and  it  certainly  is  pretty  severe.  I  am 
told  that  it  cuts  like  a  knife.  It  exposes  L.  G.'s  prevarica- 
tions about  numbers,  the  Eastern  expeditions,  and  the 
American  '  disappointment.'  I  am  surprised  that  the 
Censor  has  let  it  pass.     So  is   Robertson,  with  whom   I 


1918]  WHAT  THE  SOLDIERS  SAY  275 

lunched  to-day.  We  had  botli  heard  gloomy  accounts 
of  the  feeling  at  our  G.H.Q.  in  France.  Charlie  Burn, 
just  back  from  France.  Bays  thai  the  Ai  my  is  dog-tired  after 
20  days  of  continuous  fighting,  and  that  if  our  Army  be 
rounded  up,  the  soldiers  mean  to  make  themselves  very 
unpleasant  here.,  as  they  attribute  all  the  fault  to  L.  G. 
and  his  Cabinet. 

We  had  a  little  talk  over  the  possibility  of  having  to 
close  down  the  continental  part  of  the  war  and  of  our 
chances  if  we  reverted  to  a  maritime  war,  but  the  pros- 
pect was  less  pleasing  the  more  we  looked  into  it.  The 
port  of  London  is  the  great  difficulty,  for  if  we  abandon 
the  French  Channel  ports  we  cannot  supply  London  easily 
by  sea.  In  the  end  we  came  again  to  the  opinion  that  we 
mitfj  nut  allow  our  Army  to  be  separated  from  the  French 
Army,  but  that  we  were  daily  in  a  more  difficult  position 
to  prevent  this  catastrophe.  We  lost  Neuve  Chapelle  on 
Tuesday,  and  yesterday  the  Bodies  took  Wytschaete 
and  Bailleul.  R.  and  I  both  thought  that  Plumer  would 
have  to  leave  the  Ypres  salient,  and  later  we  heard  that  he 
had  just  done  so.  We  expect  that  he  is  on  the  line  through 
Ypres,  and  ma}7  go  back  to  the  Graveh'nes  water-line,  which 
can  be  inundated  if  they  have  gone  at  it  soon  enough.  R. 
says  that  at  our  depots  outside  Calais  there  are  £50,000,000 
worth  of  stores  of  all  sorts.  He  thinks  that  the  decks 
ought  to  have  been  cleared  for  a  retreat  before  this,  but 
doubts  that  it  has  been  done.  We  discussed  the  retreat 
of  our  left,  gradually  pivoting  round,  with  the  right  of  our 
left  wing  as  the  pivot,  and  thought  it  a  precious  delicate 
operation.  R.  bean  that  lie  may  be  asked  to  go  to  France 
in  M>me  capacity,  and  consulted  me  about  it.  I  was  against 
U  Pocfa  alone  commands  now,  and  has  Johnny  Du  Cane 

as hifl  British  C.G.H.,  and  also  Charles  Grant — two  good  men. 
Haig  lias   become  a  post  office,  and  I  did  not  see  what  good 

K.  could  do  unless  be  returned  t<>  his  old  posl  with  full 
powers,  it  teemed  to  me  important,  it  we  came  to  a 
-ma  h,  that  R.  should  remain  unaffected  by  it  and  \»-  able 

t<>     ■  t   to  work  to  recast   everything.      \\V  neithei   of  us  saw 


276     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

what  good  he  could  do  in  France  just  now.  He  would  be 
useless  if  he  agreed  with  Foch  and  powerless  if  he  did  not. 

Thursday,  April  18.  Not  much  change  on  the  battle 
front.  Our  Navy  have  done  sweeps  through  the  Kattegat 
and  the  Bight  of  Heligoland,  sinking  a  dozen  armed  trawlers 
or  so.  Well  to  know  what  is  going  on  there.  The  Belgians 
have  beaten  back  a  Boche  attack  and  taken  600  prisoners. 
Lunched  with  Olive.  Rumours  of  a  Boche  landing  at  Lough 
Swilly  I  Dined  at  Londonderry  House.  Lord  and  Lady 
L.,  Theresa  Lady  L.;  Belle  Herbert,  Lord  and  Lady  Titch- 
field,  and  Walter  Long.  Benevente  had  won  the  Craven 
Stakes  at  Newmarket  to-day,  and  they  were  all  delighted 
as  she  was  giving  the  colts  weight,  and  the  form  makes  her 
the  best  of  the  year  up  to  date.  Titchfield  so  bored  with 
having  been  taken  over  his  father,  the  Duke's,  stables 
so  often  as  a  young  man  that  he  says  he  never  wants  to  see 
another  racehorse. 

We  discussed  the  Ministerial  changes  announced  to-day, 
including  Derby's  as  Ambassador  to  France,  Miner's  suc- 
cession to  Derby  at  the  War  Office,  and  Austen  Chamber- 
lain's nomination  to  the  War  Cabinet.  Derby  reported 
not  to  know  French.  He  told  Bonar  Law  that  he  would 
have  to  go  to  bed  with  a  dictionary.  B.  L.  replied  that  he 
was  '  no  vara  sure  what  use  a  deektionary  would  be  in  the 
ceercumstances.'  L.  mimics  B.  L.'s  way  of  speaking  to 
perfection.  Joe  Laycock  telephoned  to  me,  and  we  got 
him  to  come  on  to  Londonderry  House.  He  left  the 
battle  this  morning.  He  assured  us  that  General  Wilson's 
forecast  of  the  arrival  of  96  German  divisions  on  the  St. 
Quentin  front  in  March,  of  which  L.  G.  has  made  so  much, — 
though  Heaven  knows  why,  as  it  makes  the  War  Cabinet 
out  to  be  bigger  fools  than  ever — was,  in  fact,  made  in 
reference  to  an  attack  in  a  different  part  of  our  front,  and 
related  to  next  July,  and  not  March.  Laycock  says  that 
our  men  are  pretty  worn,  but  the  Boches  have  suffered  a  lot. 
He  applauds  the  conduct  of  our  artillery,  which  now  often 
holds  a  line  by  itself.  He  was  with  Gough  during  the 
retreat  of  the  5th  Army.     He  says  that  the  Army  are  very 


1918]  PLVNKETT  ON  IRELAND  277 

pleased  with  my  defence  of  them,  and  with  my  having 
told  the  truth  when  the  politicians  here  lied.  I  wrote  an 
article  on  Robertson  and  Trenchard's  cases  to  show  how 
the  politicians  conducted  the  war. 

Friday,  April  19.  Wrote  and  worked.  In  the  afternoon 
went  to  the  Town  Hall  to  meet  Mr.  Jefferson  Hogg,  who 
now  rims  the  West  London  recruiting  ground.  Major 
Morley  who  was  with  him  said  that  there  were  900,000 
men  of  military  age  (up  to  forty-one)  still  in  the  London  dis- 
fcrict  and  uii  the  recruiting  registers.  The  Military  Service 
Bill  No.  2  becomes  law.  Little  change  except  that  ministers 
of  religion  are  not  to  be  conscripted,  and  that  all  men  ex- 
empted by  the  Tribunals  are  to  be  made  to  join  the  Volunteers 
unless  the  Tribunals  excuse  them.  A  good  move,  due  to 
Lord  Desborough.  We  have  been  taking  this  course  at 
Hampstead  for  some  time. 

Dined  with  Olive  to  meet  Sir  Horace  Plunkett,  Professor 
Morgan,  Lady  Fingall,  Bridget,  and  Miss  Heaton-EUis. 
We  talked  Ireland  most  of  the  time.  Plunkett,  who  has 
been  a  pillar  of  the  Irish  Convention,  in  despair  at  the 
manner  in  which  the  Irish  cruestion  had  been  handled  by 
L.  G.  He  had  committed  every  fault  possible,  with  the 
result  that  all  Ireland  was  united  against  conscription, 
and  since  Barnes's  speech  in  the  Commons  it  was  certain 
that  we  should  get  no  men  under  the  new  Act  because 
virtually  a  promise  had  been  made  not  to  apply  it  except 
through  the  Irish  Parliament  of  the  future,  the  discussion 
on  which  might  last  all  the  summer.  The  trouble  had 
arisen  mainly  because  L.  G.  had  pretended  that  the  two 
measures  were  independent  of  each  other,  whereas  they 
were  really  inseparable.  P.  found  that  every  one  in  London 
deplored  I;.  G.'s  folly,  and  yet  they  had  lei  him  go  on.  It 
is  terrible  .it  this  crisis  to  have  this  skeleton  in  the  cup- 
board <»f  British  Btatesmanship  on  our  hands.  Lady  P. 
and  1  talked  aboul  old  Dublin  day*  when  she  was  bo 
attractive.    She  amused  me  by  a  Btory,    she  was  up  in 

London    for   a   jmiKet    in    those   old    days    looking    her  best, 

and  had  gone  namd  to  all  the  expensive  mops  to  buy  hats 


278     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

and  things.  She  had  a  smart  hansom  with  a  smart  young 
driver.  When  he  deposited  her  at  the  house  where  she 
was  lunching  she  paid  him  off  and  said,  '  I  should  like  to 
have  taken  you  on,  but  I  am  sorry  I  can't  afford  to  keep 
you.'  '  That 's  just  what  I  was  thinking  about  you,  Miss,' 
replied  the  driver  ! 

Sunday,  April  21.  Mr.  Gilmour  who  came  in  to  tea  told 
us  a  characteristic  story  of  L.  G.  The  Propaganda  had  been 
placed  in  Carson's  hands.  Six  weeks  later  Donald  of  the 
Chronicle  had  given  L.  G.  a  memorandum  strongly  criticis- 
ing it.  L.  G.  had  given  him  a  written  order  to  look  into 
it  and  report.  L.  G.  had  read  Donald's  report  but  not 
the  defence  of  the  department  which  exposed  the  inexact- 
itudes of  the  report,  and  yet  he  explained  to  the  H.  of  C.  the 
appointments  of  Northcliffe  and  Beaverbrook  by  declaring 
that  the  Propaganda  had  been  mismanaged  !  This  is  the 
way  he  does  things. 

Monday,  April  22.  Still  no  change  in  France.  Met 
Arthur  Henderson  and  George  Lambert,  M.P.,  late  Civil 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty.  Henderson  wants  Robertson  to 
take  the  War  Office  on  a  change  of  Government,  but  I 
resisted  it  and  said  that  we  wanted  R.  for  C.I.G.S.,  and  not 
as  another  Lord  K.,  as  it  had  not  worked  to  have  a  soldier 
as  S.  of  S.  for  War.  H.'s  account  of  the  War  Cabinet  in 
his  time  very  illuminating.  L.  G.  was  the  War  Cabinet 
and  nobody  else  really  counted.  L.  G.  threatened  to  resign 
like  a  spoilt  child,  whenever  he  was  opposed,  and  as  his 
resignation  would  have  brought  the  whole  Cabinet  down 
the  rest  always  gave  way.  H.  said  that  L.  G.  had  made 
Hankey  ask  Austen  Chamberlain  and  himself  for  all  their 
Cabinet  papers  when  they  left  the  Cabinet.  The  course 
was  unusual,  but  as  Chamberlain  had  assented  H.  could 
not  do  less. 

Met  Reggie  Pembroke,  who  leaves  for  Japan  next  week. 
He  had  just  met  Gwynne  at  lunch  somewhere  and  had 
told  him  that  he  had  confidently  expected  to  see  me 
beheaded,  and  that  it  was  quite  time  as  no  member  of  his 
family  had  been  beheaded  since   1440  !     I  met  one  Con- 


1918]         FOCH  TOO  WEAK  TO  ATTACK  279 

stantine  Brown  who  has  been  out  in  Romania  for  the 
'Times  all  along.  He  say-  that  the  collapse  of  Russia  is 
complete  and  it  is  no  use  to  talk  of  a  restoration  of  her 
power.  There  are  only  plundering  bands  of  Red  Guards. 
The  Germans  are  arming  Germans  and  Austrians  who  have 
been  prisoners  in  Russia,  and  sending  them  to  Vologda, 
Kharkorf.  Irkutsk,  etc.,  to  control  the  country.  Mackensen 
with  27  mostly  Austrian  divisions  is  in  the  Ukraine;  the 
divisions  are  sono  bayonets  if  Austrian,  and  not  more  than 
2000  to  4000  if  German.  He  expects  10  Austro-German 
divisions  to  go  to  Mesopotamia.  This  is  the  report  of  the 
Alsatian  and  Arab  deserters.  Seven  Rumanian  divisions 
are  taking  over  Bessarabia  as  a  solatium  for  their  loss  of 
territory  ;  the  remaining  8  are  returning  under  German 
staff  officers  to  be  demobilised.  The  good  German  divi- 
sions like  the  11th  and  the  109th  have  gone  to  France 
from  the  Rumanian  front.  He  does  not  think  that 
the  Bulgarians  want  to  fight  any  more  nor  will  attack 
Salonika.  They  have  all  they  want.  A  lot  of  the  Russian 
corps  of  officers  are  joining  the  Germans  in  order  to  make 
a  living. 

Tuesday,  April  23.  Met  Charlie  Burn  just  back  from 
G.H.Q.  again.  He  thinks  that  things  are  better,  and  says 
that  Foch  and  Haig  are  on  the  best  of  terms.  Met  de 
Noailles  at  the  Ritz.  He  says  that  Fooh's  H.Q.  are  now  at 
B  small  village  near  Grandvilliers.  Foch  has  no  real  staff, 
but  it  is  growing.  Fagalde  and  de  Noailles  still  report  to 
H.Q.  at  Paris,  where  there  is  no  chief  to  replace  Foch,  but 
where  Berthaut  runs  the  Intelligence.  Foch  has  no  liaison 
with  London,  etc.  Berthaut  does  not  believe  in  an  Austrian 
attack  on  Italy.  Foch  has  no  Armee  de  Manoeuvre.  He 
has  16  divisions  in  the  line  on  the  French  battle  front  in 
Picardy,  and  only  some  15  now  in  reserve,  as  5  have  gone 
north  to  help  n-  on  1  be  Flanders  side.  Besides  i  his  Pooh  has 
only  the  divisions  which  lie  might  oaU  up  from  the  eastern 
sectors  of  the  French  front.  Foch  has  in  fact  little  enough 
to  fill  the  gaps,  and  a  great  counter-att a<  k  is  not  within  his 
power.     The  news  to-day  is  that  the  enemy  is  collecting  his 


28o     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

masses  on  the  Arras-Montdidier  front  against  our  3rd  and  4th 
Armies,  and  the  impression  is  that  another  great  affair  is  near. 
De  N.  says  that  both  we  and  the  French  have  had  to  break 
up  divisions  owing  to  want  of  men,  and  that  Foch  fears  July 
most,  as  we  shall  then  be  at  our  weakest.  De  N.  doubts 
whether  the  question  of  the  French  Channel  ports  has  been 
squarely  faced,  and  fears  that  it  may  be  a  political  and 
not  a  military  decision  that  will  rule,  though  he  feels  sure 
that  Foch  will  plump  for  keeping  the  two  Armies  together. 
De  Noailles  supposed  that  M.  Cambon  will  not  be  at  all 
pleased  about  Derby  at  Paris,  but  Clemenceau  is  said  to  be 
on  good  terms  with  Milner. 

We  hear  to-day  that  Admiral  Keyes  has  made  a  brilliant 
and  apparently  successful  effort  to  block  the  ports  of  Ostend 
and  Zeebrugge  by  sinking  ships  in  the  fairway.  Also  that 
Baron  von  Richthoven,  the  crack  Boche  flyer,  was  killed  on 
Sunday  last  and  has  been  buried  on  our  side  of  the  line. 
He  claimed  eighty  Allied  airmen  as  his  victims.  Lady  John- 
stone lunched  with  me  and  we  talked  Holland.  She  told  me 
the  reason  for  Sir  Alan's  dismissal  as  given  to  her  by  an 
illustrious  personage.  One  of  Bethmann  Hollweg's  fishing 
peace  offers,  over  a  year  ago,  had  come  to  Holland  over  the 
German  wires.  The  practice  was  for  Reuter's  men  to  trans- 
late a  German  message  and  send  it  on  to  London  at  once. 
This  had  been  done  in  the  usual  way,  and  the  report  was  in 
our  Press  and  before  our  Cabinet  when  they  met  the  next 
morning.  They  were  furious  at  not  having  a  report  from 
Sir  Alan,  and  determined  to  oust  him  as  a  proof  of  their 
activity.  What  Sir  Alan  had  done  was  what  he  was  in 
Holland  for.  He  had  consulted  Loudon,  the  Dutch  Foreign 
Minister,  immediately  he  saw  the  report  and  had  sent  on  his 
views,  but  not  of  course  in  time  for  the  War  Cabinet  that 
morning. 

Lady  J.  agrees  with  me  that  the  neglect  of  the  Low 
Countries  by  England,  now  as  always,  has  been  abysmal. 
There  is  evidently  some  Boche  attempt  just  now  to  impose 
some  conditions  on  Holland  which  the  latter  may  be  unable 
to  accept,  and  there  is  an  extraordinary  sitting  of  the  Dutch 


1918]  POLEMICAL  JOURNALISTS  281 

Cabinet  to-day.  The  Bodies  are  out  for  the  Scheldt  of 
course,  and  the  raid  on  the  Flemish  coast  will  make  them  all 
the  more  mad.  It  looks  as  if  the  naval  side  of  the  war  might 
be  growing  warm.  Wrote  an  article  on  Derby  and  Milner, 
and  criticised  L.  G.'a  latest  excuse  in  the  Commons  on  April 
16,  that  we  were  not  ready  for  the  arrival  with  the  colours  of 
a  new  Boche  contingent  of  550,000  men.  An  unjust  asper- 
sion nn  Macdonogh's  department  1  am  sure,  and  we  all  know 
thai  a  Boche  contingent  is  not  that  figure  now.  Whigham 
has  left  the  General  Stall',  and  Maurice  is  replaced  by  P.  de  B. 
Radcliffe  i  he  gunner.  Tim  Harington  down  to  replace 
Whigham,  but  Plumer  naturally  cannot  spare  him  just  now. 
I  hear  that  our  casualties  up  to  Sunday  last  were  210,000. 
The  French  about  50,000. 

Wednesday,  April  24.  More  about  the  Flanders  coast 
affair,  which  was  very  gallant.  Ostend  was  a  failure, 
but  Zeebrugge  a  great  success.  We  hear  in  the  afternoon 
that  a  big  Boche  attack  has  begun  on  our  front  south 
of  Arras,  and  that  the  enemy  has  taken  a  couple  of  villages 
and  is  worrying  us  with  big  new  tanks.  Lunched  with  Lady 
Paget  to  meet  M.  Cambon.  Mr.  Crosby  the  American  and 
another  also  there.  Cambon  interesting.  Lady  P.  taxed 
him  about  Clemenceau  having  given  away  the  Emperor 
Karl's  letter  about  Alsace  Lorraine.  I  could  see  that 
Cambon  did  not  approve  of  it.  He  said  that  Clemenceau 
-  a  journalist  and  polemical  :  he  was  like  Colonel  Reping- 
ton,  and  was  aggressive  and  fond  of  the  offensive.  As  a 
journalist  he  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  scoring  off 
people,  and  hence  these  tears. 

1  told  him  that  the  Bon  Dieu  was  on  our  side  at  last 
and  that  the  age  of  miracles  was  not  past,  as  we  now 
i  reated  diplomats  in  a  spring  night.  He  wondered  how 
Derby  would  do,  and  asked  me  what  chance  there  was  of 
getting  recmitfl  from  Ireland  now.  1  said  that  I  saw 
none.  Much  talk  of  the  Japanese.  Cambon  said  that  at 
i  the. laps  had  determined  to  go  into  Siberia  alone  and 
bred  no  other  help,  least  of  all  that  of  America,  but  that, 
since  then,  thinge   bad  ehanged  and  Japan  now  saw  the 


2$2     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

advantage  of  Allied  help.  Cambon  saw  nothing  for  it  but 
Japanese  intervention.  The  Bolshevists  were  played  out 
and  had  no  power.  Mr.  Francis  the  U.S.  Ambassador  was 
still  at  Petrograd,  and  trusted  to  the  reports  of  his  man  at 
Moscow.  But  Francis  was  beginning  to  find  out  his 
mistake  now. 

The  Ambassador  and  I  discussed  the  military  position  as 
we  walked  back  to  the  Embassy  together.  We  agreed  that 
Foch  had  no  great  reserve  to  intervene,  and  only  enough 
to  fill  the  gaps,  if  that.  We  felt  sure  that  there  would  be 
an  outcry  against  Foch  if  he  failed,  and  I  said  that  I  would 
defend  him  as  I  knew  his  difficulties.  I  saw  General  Sir 
Edward  Locke  Elliot,  back  from  France  to-day.  He  says 
that  Haig  told  him  this  morning  that  his  armies  were 
166,000  men  short  of  their  establishments  when  the  Boche 
offensive  began  on  March  21  !  Elliot  furious  and  is  going 
to  see  Austen  Chamberlain  to  post  him  up  in  the  facts. 

Dined  with  Mrs.  Greville ;  the  McKennas,  Lady  Bingham, 
Mrs.  Astor,  Evan  Charteris,  Walter  Burns,  and  Lord 
Granard.  Granard  has  had  an  hour  with  L.  G.  at  No.  10 
to-day.  L.  G.  attacked  him  furiously  about  the  attitude  of 
the  R.  C.  Church  in  Ireland,  and  G.  thinks  that  the  P.M.  is 
going  in  for  a  No  Popery  cry  as  a  distraction.  The  Times 
attempts  to  raise  this  issue  to-day,  doubtless  on  inspiration. 
The  War  Cabinet  collecting  lightning  conductors  !  Granard 
seems  to  have  given  L.  G.  a  bit  of  his  mind.  McKenna  told 
me  that  my  articles  had  been  the  most  terrible  that  he  had 
ever  known,  and  that  they  were  ruining  L.  G.  as  I  was  an 
acknowledged  authority.  My  articles  and  Cohan's  inimit- 
able irony  in  the  leaders  were  the  best  things  in  the  Press. 
We  had  cut  out  all  the  Radical  journals.  McKenna  does 
not  agree  with  me  that  L.  G.  is  riding  for  a  fall.  He 
says  that  L.  G.  is  a  man  who  feels  very  cold  when  in  the 
street. 

Thursday,  April  25.  Wrote  in  the  morning.  A  long 
Tribunal  sitting  in  the  afternoon.  Dined  with  Lady 
Massereene  and  arrived  half  an  hour  late.  ;  the  Lionel 
Guests,    Londonderry,    Lady   Carson,    General    X.,    Lady 


1918]        ROTHERMERE'S  RESIGNATION  283 

Durierin,  Lord  Q.ueenborough,  ami  Miss  K.  Norton, 
Grantley's  daughter.  After  dinner  there  came  in  Sir 
John  and  Lady  Laverv.  Miss  Elizabeth  Asquith,  the  author 
of  Milestones,  and  a  few  more.  X.  told  us  that  when  the 
resignation  of  Lord  Rothermere  was  announced  in  the 
evening  papers  to-day  all  the  Air  Force  waved  the  papers 
oat  of  the  windows  at  Headquarters  and  cheered.  He  told 
us  that  Johnny  Baird  was  the  real  hero  of  the  last  three 
days.  Trenchard,  X.  thought,  had  not  a  good  case  and 
would  not  come  back.  But  Rothermere  had  written  an 
extraordinary  minute  to  the  War  Cabinet,  saying  what 
had  been  done  and  was  to  be  done,  without  consulting 
Baird  or  his  staff.  Baird  had  seen  a  copy  and  found  it  both 
inaccurate  and  indefensible.  So  he  took  it  round  to  the 
departments  concerned  and  found  that  they  had  not  been 
consulted  and  disapproved  of  most  of  the  things,  as  did 
Baird.  So  he  wrote  to  the  War  Cabinet,  pointing  these 
things  out  and  refused  to  be  responsible  for  supporting 
Rothermere  in  Parliament.  So  Rothermere  had  to  go, 
and  the  letters  exchanged  between  him  and  L.  G.  to-day 
were  so  much  camouflage.  Now  they  were  in  a  nice  mess 
over  the  debate  on  the  question  in  the  two  Houses  on 
Monday,  and  it  was  a  real  fix.  X.  expected  that  Sir  William 
Weir  would  be  appointed,  as  L.  G.  did  not  daro  appoint 
Winston  or  Beaverbrook,  and  Weir  was  a  right  good  man 
;t  his  job.  X.  said  that  Rothermere  was  personally  pleasant, 
but  knew  nothing,  and  had  no  idea  how  to  run  a  great  de- 
partment. Londonderry  hopes  to  hang  on  to  the  debate 
a  moral  about  the  soldier  and  politician,  but  all  is  uncer- 
tainty. 

We  talked  of  the  battle,  and  it  is  agreed  that  this 
1-  not  the  great  thing  but  a  preliminary.  Lady  Carson 
told  m'-  bow  delighted  she  was  when  Sir  Edward  resigned 
from  the  Was  Cabinet.  The  Ulster  Members,  when  the 
Home    Rule    Bill    \\;i<    introduced,    intended    to    write   and 

refuse,  at  Unionist  Ulster  Members,  to  receive  the  Whip 
of  the  Unionist  party.  She  was  bitter  about  one  of 
1        m'g  late  colleagues.    Carson  had  recently  met   L.  G. 

VM..    11  I 


284     GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  OF  MARCH  1918 

by  accident  at  a  dinner  given  by  G.  Dawson.  L.  G.  had 
asked  himself  at  the  last  moment,  and  Dawson  had  apolo- 
gised to  Carson.  L.  G.  went  at  Carson  for  his  speech  about 
Jellicoe,  and  Carson  had  answered  back  and  claimed  the 
right  to  speak  upon  a  question  which  he  understood  and 
knew  all  about.  A  question  of  the  newspapers  came  up 
and  Carson  said  that  he  liked  to  hear  both  sides,  and  so  read 
one  Government  and  one  independent  paper.  L.  G.  asked 
which  they  were,  and  Carson  said  that  the  Times  was  the 
Government  organ  and  the  Morning  Post  the  independent 
organ.  This  made  Dawson  gloomy,  and  L.  G.  tried  to  help 
him  out  by  saying  that  the  M.P.  had  a  smaller  circulation. 
Carson  rejoined  that  wherever  he  went  he  now  found 
people  reading  the  Morning  Post  in  preference  to  the  Times. 
Lady  C.  said  that  she  was  waiting  for  Sir  E.  outside  the 
Club  at  Belfast  the  other  day  in  her  car,  which  had  one 
window  down.  One  '  shawlie  '  got  on  the  step  and  looked 
in  and  examined  her.  Then  she  stepped  down  and  said 
loudly  '  It 's  his  wife  ! '  Then  a  second  '  shawlie  '  got  up 
and  poked  her  head  in  and  bawled  out  as  she  got  down, 
'  She  's  vara  young  ! '  Whereupon  a  third  mounted  and 
poked  her  head  in  turn  to  have  a  good  look,  and  then 
shouted  rather  contemptuously  to  her  friends,  '  She  's  no  si 
young  as  a'  that !  ' 

I  drove  Miss  Norton  and  Lord  Queenborough  home. 
X.  told  me  that  I  had  done  yeoman  service  for  the  Army 
since  I  left  the  Times. 

Friday,  April  26.  The  Australians  retook  Villers- 
Bretonneux  on  Wednesday  night  after  it  had  been  taken 
by  the  Boches.  A  fine  feat  of  arms.  The  French  lose 
Hangard.  In  the  north  the  Boches  have  taken  Kemmel 
Hill,  a  serious  affair.  I  hear  that  Milner  and  Co.  are  off  to 
France  again.  What  a  bore  these  parties  must  be  to  the 
commanders.  Lunched  with  Olive  and  Arthur  Murray. 
The  latter  told  us  his  experiences  in  America.  He  is  now 
back  at  the  F.O.,  and  a  sort  of  liaison  officer  for 
Lord  Reading,  who  is  kept  without  information  in  the 
U.S.     Called   in   to   see   Lady   Juliet   Duff  in   the   after- 


1918]  ALLENBY  ON  HIS  POSITION  285 

noon,  and  we  discussed  the  Trenchard  case.  T.  certainly  left 
on  a  matter  of  principle,  and  because  Rothermere  not  only 
consulted  other  people  but  acted  on  their  advice  without 
informing  T.,  and  T.  considered  him  a  danger  to  the  country. 
A  talk  with  Sir  G.  Arthur  at  the  Carlton.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  K.*s  1916  establishments  were  three  battalions 
pel  division  higher  than  the  present  scale.  A.  says  that 
Hardinge  called  on  Cambon  to  ask  him  to  telephone  to  Paris  to 
ask  if  Derby  would  be  agreeable  !  and  G.  A.  is  very  displeased 
with  these  country  manners  imposed  by  L.  G.'s  procedure. 
A  letter  from  General  Allenby  dated  April  4  only  reached  me 
to-day.  He  says  that  the  attack  in  the  West  has  apparently 
changed  our  plans  and  policy  :  he  says  that  he  does  not 
see  great  conquests  before  him  until  our  Western  front  is 
repaired.  He  says  that  I  may  be  assured  that  he  will  take 
no  unreasonable  risks.  He  says  that  his  railway  may  now 
advance  from  a  mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half  a  day.  He  tells  me 
the  story  of  his  raid  across  the  Jordan  to  blow  up  the  tunnel 
of  the  Hedjaz  line  at  Amman,  and  why  it  failed,  the  reasons 
being  too  many  Turks  and  too  high  mountains  of  Moab.  He 
has  about  35,000  Turks  in  his  front,  and  one  Boche  regi- 
ment is  reported  to  be  coming  his  way  from  Salonika, 

Saturday,  Ayril  27.  Began  an  article  on  the  Trenchard 
case,  but  am  not  sure  whether  I  will  finish  it  or  await  the 
debate.  Lunched  with  the  Charles  Beresfords.  They  asked 
if  I  was  alarmed  by  the  military  situation.  I  said  that 
whenever  the  papers  reported  that  our  War  Cabinet  was 
sitting  I  was  alarmed,  but  when  they  reported  that  it  waa 
sitting  continuously  I  was  frightened  to  death. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND,  APRIL  1918 

A  visit  to  Admiral  Sir  Roger  Keyes  and  the  Dover  patrol — The  story 
of  the  blocking  operations  at  Zeebrugge  and  Ostend — The  audacious 
assault  on  the  Zeebrugge  mole — A  deathless  story — The  question  of 
the  French  Channel  ports — Admiral  Keyes's  '  graveyard  ' — A  night 
at  the  National  Sporting  Club — The  Marquis  Imperiali  on  Prince 
Lichnowsky — Talks  with  H.  G.  Wells  and  M.  Huysmans — The  Duke 
of  Connaught's  trip  to  Palestine — Stories  from  the  Holy  Land — M. 
Coleyn's  treatment  in  England — General  Maurice  exposes  the  Govern- 
ment— The  Unionists  decide  to  support  Mr.  Lloyd  George  in  the 
Maurice  debate — Government  majority  187  in  consequence — The 
figures  which  justify  Maurice — Our  losses  now  258,000 — Mr.  Otto 
Kahn  on  President  Wilson — Colonel  Slocum  on  the  good  comrade- 
ship of  America — Admiral  Keyes  on  his  blocking  operations — Lord 
French  arrests  the  Sinn  Fein  leaders. 

Sunday,  April  28.  Went  down  to  Dover  to  have  a  good 
talk  with  Vice-Admiral  Sir  Roger  Keyes,  commanding  the 
Dover  Patrol,  about  the  question  of  the  French  Channel 
ports  which  is  becoming  serious,  and  to  hear  about  his 
Zeebrugge  exploit.  He  has  his  house  and  offices  in  three 
lodging-houses  looking  over  the  centre  of  the  harbour.  He 
gets  to  the  drawing-room  of  Lady  Keyes  from  his  working- 
room  by  the  balcony.  Lady  Keyes  a  splendid  woman, 
very  keen  and  enthusiastic.  It  must  be  a  bit  of  a  trial  for 
her  to  be  at  that  house  looking  over  the  Channel  at  night, 
and  hearing  the  guns  when  Sir  Roger  is  Boche  hunting. 
The  Admiral  is  a  cool  and  yet  ardent  spirit,  as  his  recent 
exploit  has  shown.  He  is  spare  and  of  medium  height. 
With  him  was  Captain  Carpenter  of  the  Vindictive,  who 
laid  his  ship  alongside  the  mole  at  Zeebrugge  so  splendidly. 
Keyes  said  that  Carpenter  bore  a  charmed  life,  as  nearly 
everything  on  his  bridge  was  splintered  and  C.  had  the  peak 

286 


1918]  GERMAN  COAST  DEFENCES  287 

of  his  cap  shot  off  and  his  olothes  riddled.  C.  added  that 
he  had  that  morning  found  shrapnel  in  the  goggles  which 
had  been  in  his  pocket.  He  remained  one  hour  and  five 
minutes  alongside  the  mole.  The  more  I  hear  of  this  affair 
the  more  audacious  and  yet  well  calculated  I  find  it.  A 
glance  at  the  map  giving  the  German  batteries  on  the  Belgian 
coast  shows  an  almost  uninterrupted  chain  of  batteries,  with 
infantry  trenches  and  barbed  wire  almost  continuous. 
There  bear  upon  the  two  points  attacked  last  Tuesday 
before  dawn  no  fewer  than  120  Boche  heavy  guns  over  G  in. 
and  running  up  to  11  in.,  12  in.,  and  15  in.,  besides  innumer- 
able smaller  ones.  The  volume  of  fire  must  have  been 
tremendous,  and  yet  Ke}Tes,  who  led  the  attack  in  the 
destroyer  Warwick,  took  in  a  whole  fleet  of  unarmoured 
vessels  of  many  small  types,  assaulted  the  mole,  blew  up 
its  wooden  shore  end,  and  thrust  two  out  of  his  three  block- 
ing ships  well  into  the  narrow  entrance,  where  they  were 
sunk  athwart  the  channel  as  intended.  The  bows  and 
stern  of  the  Iphigenia  in  particular  rest  on  the  shallows 
uncovered  at  low  water.  There  is  no  doubt  about  the 
success,  as  the  aerial  photographs  show  the  position  exactly. 
All  the  Boche  guns,  mines,  nets,  etc.,  were  ineffective,  and 
the  amount  of  good  staff  work  and  minute  preparation  was 
really  wonderful  to  have  accomplished  such  a  feat.  On 
two  occasions  t  he  armada  had  been  collected  for  the  attempt, 
but  the  wind  changed  on  the  last  occasion  and  the  Admiral 
had  to  give  up  the  plan  to  his  huge  disgust.  It  was  a  hard 
decision  to  take,  and  showed  great  strength  of  character. 
H<-  could  not  use  wireless,  as  the  first  note  gave  the  Boche 
the  position  of  the  ship  using  wireless  by  intersection  from 
the  Boche  wireless  stations,  and  a  rain  of  heavy  shells 
followed  almost  immediately.  The  motor  boats  led  in  and 
developed  the  smoke  screen.  Any  wind  N.  of  E.  or  W. 
would  do.  It  rolled  down  upon  the  shore  and  might  bo 
mistaken  for  fog  rerj  easily.  It  obscured  the  searchlights 
and  made  their  lights  look  red.  The  Vindictive  followed 
in  and  made  for  the  mole,  using  grapnels  and  gangways 

or  '  too*     '  lowered  from  a   high  false  deck,  but  the  surge 


288  ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

of  the  tide  made  it  hard  to  stay  close  alongside,  and  one  of 
the  two  auxiliaries,  namely,  the  Daffodil,  had  to  remain  to 
press  the  Vindictive  against  the  mole,  and  so  could  not 
put  her  landing  parties  on  to  the  mole  as  intended,  nor 
land  her  demolition  parties.  The  other  auxiliary,  the  Iris, 
could  not  land  her  parties,  and  suffered  terribly.  The  main 
object  was  to  silence  the  battery  of  ten  guns  at  the  sea  end 
of  the  mole  to  prevent  it  from  sinking  the  blocking  ships 
as  they  went  in,  and  this  was  accomplished,  but  the  landing 
parties  could  not  get  very  far  towards  the  shore  end  of  the 
mole  owing  to  machine-gun  fire.  There  was  a  Boche  de- 
stroyer alongside  the  mole,  and  she  brought  down  many  of 
the  ladders  which  our  men  placed  to  allow  them  to  get  down 
the  16-ft.  drop  from  the  sea  crest  of  the  mole  to  the  inside 
surface.  The  motor  boats  also  dropped  smoke  flares  inside 
the  mole,  but  the  Bodies  fired  on  and  sank  most  of  them. 
The  Thetis,  the  leading  blocking  ship,  fouled  the  nets  on 
the  shore  side  of  the  string  of  armed  barges  defending  the 
channel  from  the  tip  of  the  mole,  became  unmanageable, 
and  took  the  ground  just  before  reaching  the  entrance. 
She  lies  in  a  position  where  she  may  still  be  of  use  to  make 
the  harbour  mouth  silt  up.  The  other  two  followed,  Intrepid 
leading  under  Bonham -Carter,  and  went  right  in,  scuttling 
themselves  where  ordered.  They  had  crews  of  some 
50  men  each,  and  one  motor  launch  under  Dean  alone 
brought  away  120  of  them,  doing  fine  service.  They  were 
handed  over  to  the  Warwick.  Among  them  was  the  com- 
mander of  one  of  the  scuttled  ships  who,  though  badly 
hit,  went  up  to  the  Warwick's  bridge  to  report  to  Keyes 
that  his  ship  had  been  sunk  where  ordered,  and  took  no 
notice  of  his  wound,  shrapnel  in  the  thigh,  till  the  end  of 
the  day.  The  feat  of  the  old  submarine  under  Lieut. 
Sandford,  which  destroyed  the  wooden  structure  at  the 
shore  end  of  the  mole,  was  fine.  Keyes  said  that  it  was 
about  500  to  1  that  he  was  killed.  He  rammed  his  sub- 
marine right  into  the  piles.  The  whole  of  this  structure 
was  manned  by  Boche  Q.F.  and  machine  guns.  The 
submarine  commander  then  exploded  his  ship.     He  had 


1918]  A  DEATHLESS  STORY  289 

five  minutes  to  get  away  in  a  dinghy,  of  which  the  motor 
propulsion  failed,  and  they  had  to  row  away  fired  at  from 
every  direction.  They  were  picked  up  b}7  a  motor  launch 
commanded  by  the  submarine  commander's  brother.  All 
the  Bodies  on  the  wooden  part  of  the  mole  affected  by  the 
explosion  must  have  been  killed.  The  gap  made  was  over 
100  feet.  The  total  losses  on  our  side  were  588,  of  which 
about  330  on  the  Vindictive,  which  carried  about  1000  men. 

I  saw  the  chart  and  followed  out  on  it  all  the  staff  pre- 
paratory work,  which  was  most  interesting.  The  flotillas 
came  from  the  Thames,  Harwich,  and  from  ports  to  west- 
ward of  Dover,  concentrating  during  the  darkness.  We  have 
a  watched  line  of  mines  oft'  Ostend  and  Zeebrugge,  some 
miles  out.  A  gap  was  made  in  them  and  all  our  ships  passed 
through,  then  diverging  to  Ostend  and  Zeebrugge.  We  knew 
the  channels  taken  by  the  Boche  submarines  and  followed 
them.  Also  Keyes  knew  from  photos  that  certain  areas 
were  constantly  crossed  by  the  Boche  ships,  and  so  took  no 
count  of  the  fact  that  the  Bodies  had  declared  them  mined 
areas,  and  his  inference  was  correct. 

The  failure  at  Ostend  was  due  to  a  most  unlucky  chance. 
There  was  a  Boche  light-buoy  a  little  west  of  the  entrance. 
Our  blocking  ships  were  taking  a  correct  line  to  the  entrance 
when  they  saw  the  light-buoy  which,  unknown  to  them,  had 
been  moved  by  the  Bochea  Borne  time  before,  perhaps  inten- 
tionally. They  turned  to  port,  and  passing  round  the  buoy 
made  for  what  should  have  been  the  entrance  had  the  buoy 
been  in  its  old  place.  As  it  had  been  moved,  they  found  them- 
selvi  -  out  of  their  reckoning  and  ran  ashore  as  far  east  of 
the  entrance  as  the  moved  buoy  had  formerly  been  west  of 
it.  Keyes  intended  to  have  anol  her  try  to  night,  using  the 
mui  h  shattered  Vindictive,  which  is  the  only  ship  he  has  for 
the  purpose,  though  he  longs  for  five  ship--.     Bui  the  wind 

e    to    8    today,    and    t  Ik-    motOI    boats  cannot    work    in    a 

way.  The  neri  three  days  .done  this  month  will  serve 
his  purpose.    The  officers  and  men  who  bad  tin   had  luck 

1 1  tend  are  to  do  the  business,  which  is  this  time  to  be 
1.  srved  for  the  Dover  Patrol  alone.    Tyrwhiti  lent  some 


29o  ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

of  his  craft  to  Keyes  for  the  operation,  which  was  covered 
by  five  groups  of  destroyers,  three  in  the  Channel,  one  in 
the  Downs,  and  one  at  Dunkirk.  The  Boche  star  shells 
were  very  good  and  far  better  than  ours.  While  the  attack 
was  going  on  the  Boches  put  down  a  tremendous  barrage, 
but  our  ships  were  already  inside  it,  and  it  passed  over 
their  heads.  So  it  befell  that  all  these  unarmoured  ships 
carried  out  their  purpose  in  face  of  the  most  tremendous 
armament  which  has  ever  confronted  any  Navy.  Truly  a 
miracle  of  audacity  and  sound  staff  work. 

The  Admiral  and  I  then  discussed  the  question  of  the 
French  Channel  ports  and  the  situation  of  our  armies.  He 
is  of  opinion  that  the  loss  of  these  ports  will  amount  to  a 
disaster,  as  he  will  not  be  able  to  keep  going  his  minefield, 
and  consequently  not  be  able  to  protect  the  cross-Channel 
traffic  or  the  trade  of  the  Port  of  London.  Keyes  tells  me 
that  papers  found  on  some  captured  Boches  showed  that 
255  German  submarines  had  passed  the  straits  in  1917  up 
to  Nov.  15  exclusive  of  July.  Therefore  the  defence  had 
been  ineffective.  Keyes  now  had  a  succession  of  fines  of 
mines  in  a  broad  sweep,  concave  towards  the  east,  between 
Folkestone  and  Cape  Gris  Nez.1  They  are  defended  by  lines 
of  trawlers  and  drifters,  covered  by  the  groups  of  destroyers 
to  the  east.  His  lines  of  mines  were  growing  daily.  His  'grave- 
yard '  chart  shows  the  spots  where  twenty  Boche  sub- 
marines have  been  sunk  since  he  took  command  in  January. 
The  trawlers  and  drifters  fired  on  the  U-boats,  and  the  small 
destroyers  attacked  them  with  depth  charges  and  drove 
them  down  upon  the  mines.  A  Boche  officer  blown  up  and 
saved  said  that  it  was  now  a  point  of  honour  with  the  Boche 
U-boat  officers  to  go  to  the  Flanders  flotilla  owing  to  the 
severity  of  its  recent  losses.  There  are  interesting  arrange- 
ments for  reporting  automatically  the  advent  of  a  U-boat, 
which  now  signal  themselves  by  an  ingenious  process  due 
to  some  of  our  best  electrical  experts. 

But  if  the  French  ports  are  lost  the  minefield  can  no 
longer  be  made  safe.    It  can  be  turned  on  the  French  shore, 

1  These  had  been  begun  by  Admiral  Bacon  :  see  'The  Dover  Patrol.' 


1918]     VALUE  OF  THE  CHANNEL  PORTS       291 

and  Boche  destroyers  can  pla}7  the  deuce  with  the  trawlers 
and  drifters.  At  present  Keyes  counts  much  on  the  Anglo- 
French  flotilla  at  Dunkirk,  which  ran  intercept  on  their  return 
Boche  flotillas  striking  at  the  minefield.  Keyes  values 
Dunkirk  even  more  than  Calais  and  Boulogne.  He  does  not 
make  such  a  strong  point  of  the  Port  of  London  trade, 
though  he  referred  to  it.  He  and  his  officers  are  unanimous 
in  pointing  out  the  catastrophe  which  the  loss  of  the  com- 
mand of  the  Channel  would  entail.  Keyes  went  to  G.H.Q. 
two  days  ago  and  saw  Haig  and  Plumer.  He  deplored  the 
little  interest  displayed  in  the  naval  side  of  the  question,  and 
thought  that  they  looked  gloomy  and  fatigued.  I  told  him 
R.'s  views  and  mine,  namely,  that  we  might  lose  the  war  if 
we  abandoned  the  French  Channel  ports,  but  must  lose  it  if 
we  separated  from  the  French.  I  thought  that  both  the  naval 
and  the  military  opinions  were  correct  and  unanswerable,  but 
that  it  was  the  Boche  who  would  impose  a  decision  on  us. 

Keyes  has  his  men  ready  to  demolish  Dunkirk  harbour. 
G.H.Q.  had  suggested  that  he  should  refer  to  the  French 
Government.  Keyes  says  that  it  concerned  the  safety 
of  England,  and  he  is  getting  ready  for  Calais  and 
Boulogne  too.  I  thought  that  no  more  serious  problem 
of  strategy  had  ever  confronted  a  British  Government. 
Keyes  had  not  even  been  invited  to  attend  the  War  Cabinet 
to  give  an  opinion  !  He  was  not  very  anxious  about 
the  Boohe  lung-range  gun  as  it  did  so  little  harm,  but  he 
admits  that  it  may  in  the  end  render  Dover  harbour  unten- 
able. We  have  no  guns  that  can  fire  across  the  Straits,  and 
we  should  only  have  the  Boche  gun  for  our  target,  and  that 
might  be  seventy  miles  off.  Winston  has  promised  him  a 
long-range  gun  in  three  months.  Keyes  prefers  the  Hamllev 
Page-  to  any  bombardment  by  guns,  and  thinks  the  future 
i-  with  them.  Bu1  we  have  only  10  besides  the  Bquadron 
near  Nancy,  and  .'{  of  t  lie  10  came  to  grief  in  his  first  abortive 
attempt  on  Zeebrugge.  Keyes  Bays  that  all  the  Boche 
flotillas  are  now  at  Bruges,  and  he  hopes  imprisoned,  except 
what  can  get  out  by  Ostend,  bat  the  big  U-boats  go  north- 

about  when  they  go  out  for  long  distance  raiding       We  had 


292  ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

got  one  lately  in  his  minefield,  the  U-109,  a  very  big  one. 
We  had  much  interesting  talk  about  invasion,  which  he 
totally  disbelieves  in  owing  to  navigational  difficulties,  and 
I  promised  to  criticise  his  papers  on  this  subject  if  he  would 
send  them  to  me.  As  he  had,  at  Gallipoli  and  Zeebrugge, 
carried  out  invasion  under  the  most  difficult  conditions 
imaginable,  I  said  that  I  thought  that  he  should  be  the  last 
to  disbelieve  in  it  along  our  600  miles  of  east  coast  so  poorly 
defended.  We  agreed  how  extraordinary  it  was  that  the 
Boche  should  have  been  so  ahead  of  us  in  naval  material  of 
all  sorts  before  the  war.  Even  now  the  Boche  destroyer 
guns  outrange  ours  by  3000  yards  and  the  boats  outsteam 
us  by  three  knots.  The  Admiral  said  that  the  sympathy  of 
the  fighting  men  of  both  services  was  with  me  in  the  recent 
prosecution.     I  returned  to  town  by  a  late  train. 

Monday,  April  29.  Wrote  an  account  of  Zeebrugge  for 
the  Morning  Post.  Dined  at  the  National  Sporting  Club 
with  a  party  of  a  dozen  or  so,  including  Lords  Churchill  and 
Lambourne,  Lord  E.  Hamilton,  Sir  Conan  Doyle,  Fitzgerald 
commanding  the  Blues  in  London,  Sir  Claude  de  Crespigny 
who  was  host,  and  a  few  more.  Admiral  Sims  and  some  of 
Ins  officers  came  in  later.  A  good  simple  dinner,  with  good 
wine  at  7  p.m.,  and  we  adjourned  at  8.30  to  see  the  boxing. 
A  great  crowd,  atmosphere  appalling,  the  room  thick  with 
dense  smoke.  We  had  front  seats  and  saw  three  contests. 
The  great  event  was  the  fight  between  Jimmy  Wilde,  a 
champion  light-weight,  and  another  unbeaten  light-weight 
for  £700.  Wilde  a  wonderful  boxer,  quite  a  genius,  and  made 
short  work  of  the  other  man.  Conan  Doyle  and  I  worked 
our  way  out  of  the  crowd  with  difficulty.  He  told  me  that 
he  had  lost  £2000  by  putting  on  the  stage  The  House  of 
Temperley.  It  had  been  too  strong  meat  for  the  ladies  in 
those  days.  Glad  to  have  seen  the  N.S.C.  on  a  big  night, 
but  have  no  wish  to  go  again.  Looked  in  to  see  Juliet 
about  10.30.  I  told  her  about  Zeebrugge,  and  she  told  me 
about  this  afternoon's  debate  on  the  Trenchard  case.  The 
facts  do  not  seem  to  have  come  out.  A  R.A.F.  squadron 
commander  told  me  that  there  were  twenty  squadrons  with 


1918]         H.  G.  WELLS  AND  HUYSMANS 

240  planes  immobilised  in  England  tor  home  defence.  They 
were  nearly  useless  to  catch  the  Bodies  at  night,  and  had 
lost  some  twenty  men  and  had  brought  down  only  two  or 
three  Bodies.  He  complained  much  of  the  number  of 
posts  found  in  the  Air  Service  for  useless  folk. 

Tuesday,  April  30.  We  had  a  good  day  in  France  yester- 
day, and  repulsed  all  Boohs  attacks  in  the  north.  Wrote  a 
short  article  on  Boche  distribution.  Lunched  with  Lady 
St.  Helier  to  meet  Brig. -Gen.  Beale-Browne,  and  we  dis- 
cussed the  state  of  the  regiments  in  France.  Lady  Tweed- 
dale  came  in. 

II  -  dnesday,  May  1.  Lunched  with  Lady  Paget,  and  found 
the  Italian  Ambassador,  Prince  and  Princess  Zamouski,  Sir 
Arthur,  and  one  or  two  more.  The  Zamouskis  gave  us  the 
worst  possible  accounts  of  Russia,  whence  they  have  just 
returned.  Imperiali  full  of  anecdotes  and  recollections  of 
the  critical  days  of  1914,  and  of  how  little  Mensdorff  had 
sold  everybody.  The  Italians  must  have  had  a  hard  hand 
to  play  in  those  days.  Imperiali  thinks  that  Lichnowsky 
was  pla3Ting  to  be  Chancellor  through  an  Entente  with 
England  after  eliminating  our  Entente  with  France.  It  is 
Baid  that  Lichnowsky  has  written  a  book  on  Grey's  policy, 
highly  flattering.  1  wonder  whether  it  can  be  better  than 
L.'s  revelations,  which  have  already  so  completely  justified 
Grey's  action.  Dined  with  the  Scarbroughs  and  Sir  Ronald 
Graham.  S.  and  I  discussed  the  Volunteers,  and  he  will  urge 
on  people  1"  send  the  Tribunals  instructions  how  to  apply 
the  new  law  which  entitles  us  to  make  every  exempted  man 
a  *  volunteer.'     Some  more  Balfour  stories. 

Thursday,  May  2.  The  more  we  know  of  the  fighting  in 
Flanders  last  Monday  the  more  clearly  it  appears  that  the 
German  4th  Army  got  a  severe  knock  from  us  and  the 
French.  Lunched  with  Biadame  Vandervelde,  II.  G.  Wells, 
and  Euysmans  the  Belgian  Socialist.  YV.  and  H.  very 
interesting,  holding  thai  we  have  done  nothing  to  bring  the 
<  lerman  proletariat  over  to  at  and  so  have  only  fought  with 
one  hand.  II  .-■■•v.  the  German  Socialist*  al  Stockholm  and 
i  consequently  tn    malvu,  bul  he  seems  to  me  a  real  enthu- 


294  ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

siast  and  a  patriot.  He  told  us  extraordinary  stories  of  the 
way  all  Belgians  spy  upon  the  Germans  in  Belgium.  He 
saw  one  man  telephone  from  Brussels  to  the  Belgian  H.Q. 
at  Havre.  They  had  cleverly  contrived  a  raccordement 
unknown  to  the  Boche.  He  says  that  the  Belgians  get  my 
articles  smuggled  in,  and  that  I  shall  find  myself  extremely 
well  known  in  Belgium  after  the  war  and  much  appreciated. 
Wells  full  of  fun.  Critical  of  Will  Rothenstein's  drawing 
of  him,  which  gives  him  four  chins  and  makes  him  appear 
a  gross  sensualist.  His  wife  will  never  recover  from  the 
portrait.  H.  and  W.  agreed  that  our  Labour  people  knew 
nothing  of  foreign  countries,  and  would  make  a  mess  of  any 
conference  that  they  attended  as  they  had  no  great  ideals. 
Much  talk  of  how  to  get  the  brain  workers  in  with  Labour. 
Friday,  May  3.  Lunched  with  Mrs.  Astor,  Lady  Randolph, 
Olive,  Lady  Juliet,  General  Brancker,  and  a  couple  of  other 
men.  A  pleasant  talk,  and  the  hostess  in  great  form. 
Went  on  afterwards  to  Lady  A.'s,  at  6  Connaught  Place, 
to  meet  Lady  Massereene  who  is  still  bent  on  her  plan. 
Lady  Curzon  also  there,  looking  like  a  pink  rose.  Drove 
Lady  M.  to  Pall  Mall.  Then  a  long  Tribunal.  Dined  with 
Olive,  the  Duke  of  Connaught,  Lady  Leslie,  the  Harry 
Higginses,  and  Pat.  The  Duke  looking  very  well,  and  very 
full  of  his  Palestine  trip.  He  was  nearly  torpedoed  on  his 
return,  the  torpedo  passing  only  200  yards  in  front  of  his 
ship.  He  was  escorted  at  the  time.  He  spoke  highly  of 
Allenby.  He  has  many  stories  of  Palestine.  One  of  a 
petition  to  Allenby  by  the  natives  ending  by  saying  '  We 
hope  that  your  Excellency  will  grant  our  prayer  in  remem- 
brance of  J.  Christ,  Esq.,  whom  you  so  much  resemble.' 
Another  of  some  one  asking  a  British  sentry  on  the  Mount 
of  Olives  where  the  said  Mount  was.  The  sentry  replied, 
'  I  don't  know.  Is  it  a  public  house  ?  '  The  Sea  of  Galilee 
story  which  Van  Swinderen  told  me  one  day  is  good  but 
perhaps  old.  An  American  rowed  out  200  yards  with  a 
fisherman,  who  showed  him  the  spot  where  Christ  walked 
upon  the  waters.  He  rowed  back  to  shore  and  the  boatman 
charged  him  300  francs.     '  The  same  old  boats  ?  '     '  Yes, 


1918]  A  MYSTIFICATION  295 

sir.'  'The  same  families  of  boatmen?  '  'Yes,  sir.'  'Is 
this  what  has  always  been  charged  ?  '  '  Yes,  sir,  always.' 
1  Wal !   I  don't  wonder  Christ  walked  !  ' 

Had  some  talk  with  the  Duke  about  affairs  in  France  and 
about  old  days  at  Aldershot. 

Saturday,  May  4.  Lunched  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harry 
Higgins,  and  found  Baroness  Dais\-  de  Brienen.  Mrs.  Brinton, 
and  Arthur  Campbell.  Miss  Daisy  full  of  the  interned 
prisoners  in  Holland,  whence  she  has  just  returned.  She 
went  on  board  her  boat  at  the  Hook  on  Tuesday  and  it  only 
sailed  on  Saturday.  She  says  that  something  must  be  done 
to  get  our  interned  men  home.  The  German  organisation 
for  their  interned  men  is  a  model.  Before  a  man  arrived  all 
the  ground  was  laid  out,  and  there  was  a  church  built  and 
schools  for  all  sorts  of  arts  and  trades,  while  groups  of  officers 
and  N.C.O.s  have  been  distributed  in  Dutch  Universities 
and  big  commercial  houses,  making  good  propaganda  work. 
I  must  sec  Newton  about  this  matter.  She  thinks  that  only 
60  per  cent,  of  the  Dutch  are  now  pro-all}7.  It  used  to  be 
75  per  cent. 

Dined  with  the  Van  Swinderens  at  32  Green  Street  to 
meet  11  Coleyn,  the  former  War  Minister.  They  were  very 
irate  because  Coleyn  had  been  invited  over  here  by  our  F.O., 
and  they  now  found  him  labelled  a  Kiihlmann  agent  by 
Press  Bureau  rojnmuniques  of  to-day's  date.  1  saw  the 
invitation  telegram  which  brought  Coleyn  over.  It  is 
signed  by  Deterring,  the  head  of  the  Anglo-Dutch  Petroleum 
Control  here,  and  Coleyn  belongs  to  the  Company  and  is 
the  Dutch  representative.  But  Van  Swinderen  declares 
that  a  man  high  up  at  our  F.O.  arranged  the  matter  with 
Deterling,  and  the  telegram  certainly  said  that  Maxse  in 
Holland  would  give  Coleyn  all  facilities  coming  and  going. 
Yit  now  he  if  received  by  this  chorus  of  evidently  inspired 
paragraph-  declaring  him  t<>  be  a  Boche  agent  '  What 
trickery  is  all  this  1  They  tell  me  that  their  differences 
with  Germany  are  in  way  of  settlement.    The  question  "f 

the  Rhine  ship  trade  and  the  [imburg  railway  will  he  settled 

compromise.     Wt  claim  that  nothing  German  can  go 


296  ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

over  these  routes,  and  the  Boches  claim  that  everything  can 
go.  It  is  largely  a  question  of  whether,  and  if  so  to  what 
extent,  international  duties  override  private  contracts  be- 
tween States.  The  Dutch  will  agree  to  accept  commercial 
trade  but  not  troops  or  munitions.  They  assure  me  that 
there  is  no  question  pending  at  present  about  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Scheldt,  and  Van  S.  thinks  that  the  Kaiser  really 
feels  the  obligation  of  chivalry  towards  Queen  Wilhelmina. 
Coleyn  declares  that  the  rear  echelons  for  the  great  Boche 
offensive  stretched  right  back  to  the  Rhine  and  even  to 
Hanover.  He  says  that  there  is  an  aerodrome  near  Amster- 
dam where  we  can  plank  down  100  aeroplanes.  They  agree 
that  much  is  to  be  hoped  if  we  can  get  nearer  to  the  Liberal 
elements  in  Germany.  A  pleasant  evening,  and  we  had  much 
talk  of  Dutch  and  German  matters.  We  lose  ourselves  in 
conjectures  about  Coleyn's  invitation  and  these  curious 
inspired  paragraphs  making  him  out  to  be  a  German  agent, 
which  he  swears  he  is  not.  He  is  here  by  invitation  of  our 
Foreign  Office. 

Sunday,  May  5.  Went  down  to  the  Morning  Post  office 
to  have  a  talk  with  Hield  and  Colvin  about  the  Coleyn  affair. 
They  showed  me  that  the  paragraphs  about  Coleyn  had  been 
given  out  at  a  meeting  between  the  Admiralty  and  the  Press. 
After  discussion  we  conjecture  how  all  this  affair  arose. 
L.  G.  just  back  from  a  visit  to  Abbeville.  Reports  that  he 
has  had  another  row  with  Clemenceau. 

Monday,  May  6.  General  Sir  F.  Maurice  came  to  see 
Gwynne  and  me.  To  our  astonishment  Maurice  has 
deliberately  decided  to  contradict  the  account  given  by 
L.  G.  and  Bonar  Law  in  Parliament,  and  gave  us  a  letter  to 
insert  to-morrow.  M.  has  sent  similar  letters  to  some  other 
papers.  He  had  shown  the  letter  to  no  soldier.  He  is 
risking  his  professional  future  by  this  brave  act,  but 
he  says  that  there  is  no  one  else  to  do  it  and  he  feels  that 
it  is  his  duty  to  his  country.  Gwynne  and  I  discussed 
ways  and  means  and  the  line  to  be  taken  in  the  leader. 
Lunched  with  Theresa  Lady  Londonderry,  and  we  had  a 
good  talk  with  many  mutual  confidences   about  past  and 


1918]  OUR  EFFORTS  TO  FIND  MEN  297 

current  affairs.     She  still  wants  Carson  to  lead  the  Unionist 
Party. 

The  French  now  have  eleven  divisions  with  us  north  of  the 
Somme.  All  the  measures  which  I  advocated  in  January 
are  now  being  tardily  taken.  Sixty-four  battalions  have 
been  ordered  home  from  distant  theatres,  and  the  two  divi- 
sions from  Palestine  are  now  both  in  France.  It  is  intended 
to  place  the  Salonika  divisions  on  the  Indian  basis  and 
to  bring  many  of  the  white  troops  to  France.  Hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  men  are  being  called  up,  and  vast 
numbers  sent  to  France  from  England.  We  have  ten 
divisions  reconstituting.  The  grand  attack  is  still  expected 
on  the  Arras-Amiens  front.  If  the  enemy  advances  fifteen 
miles  he  will  have  done  the  trick,  but  Foch  has  most  of  his 
reserves  round  Amiens.  Lord  French  made  Viceroy  of 
Ireland.  I  wish  him  joy  of  it.  One  plot  is  for  Haig  to  be 
recalled  and  put  in  French's  place  and  Plumer  to  have  the 
command  in  France.  Charlie  Burn  wants  Robertson  to 
have  French's  place  to  save  Haig.  We  shall  see  what  will 
happen  about  Maurice's  revelations  to-morrow.  A  fine 
warm  spring  day. 

Tuesday,  May  7.  Still  no  great  event  in  France.  The 
weather  wet  again.  Sir  R.  Keyes  writes  how  much  he  and 
all  concerned  in  the  Zeebrugge  affair  appreciate  my  account 
of  it.  He  says  that  the  weather  has  been  dead  against 
him,  but  he  hopes  to  make  a  good  job  of  Ostend  in  the 
end,  and  that  the  plan  has  improved  during  the  delay. 
This  may  mean  that  he  has  been  given  some  more  blocking 
ships.  He  says  that  he  has  news  from  France  which  is 
a  great  relief  to  him,  and  that  his  point  of  view  is  thoroughly 
appreciated  by  Foch  and  Haig.  He  adds  that  'the  other 
business  '  in  which  he  is  interested — meaning  no  doubt 
his  niinefii  Id  ami  t  he  '  graveyard  ' — has  been  extraordinarily 
successful  during  the  past  week. 

Tin-   Blauiioe  case  came  up  in  the   House  to-day.      I  »i 
'•iplinarv  measures  are  to  be  taken  against  Maurice,  and 
Bonar  Law  suggests  thai  two  Judges  of  the  Eigfa  Court  are 
to  examine  his  ohargee  against  Ministers.     Asquith  asks  for 


298  ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

a  Parliamentary  Inquiry,  and  the  matter  will  be  debated 
on  Thursday.     We  are  strongly  supporting  Maurice. 

Wednesday,  May  8.  Got  through  a  mass  of  corre- 
spondence. Lunched  with  Lady  Rocksavage  at  25  Park 
Lane,  and  found  Lady  Lovat,  Orpen  and  Tonks  the  artists, 
and  Mrs.  Sheridan.  Fagalde  was  to  have  joined  us,  but 
could  not  turn  up.  A  beautiful  house,  and  a  glorious 
portrait  of  Lady  R.  by  Sargent.  A  pleasant  talk.  Some 
one  told  the  story  of  Rudyard  Kipling,  who  had  said 
that  we  had  to  support  L.  G.  on  the  principle  that  if  a 
man  addicted  to  whisky-drinking  tried  to  give  it  up  he 
would  get  delirium  tremens.  A  long  Tribunal.  Dined 
with  Theresa  Lady  Londonderry  at  5  Carlton  House  Terrace, 
and  found  Sir  Edward  Carson,  the  Maguires,  Lady  Meux, 
Lady  Wolverton,  and  a  few  men.  A  good  talk  with  Lady 
W.  about  Derby.  She  was  pleased  with  some  things  that 
I  had  said  of  him,  and  was  disgusted  with  his  treatment 
by  L.  G.  She  complained  of  Balfour  for  having  come 
over  to  the  W.O.  to  induce  Derby  to  go  to  Paris.  We 
talked  of  Derby's  action  in  the  Robertson  case  and  told 
each  other  our  views.  Carson  in  great  form.  He  had 
been  for  three  hours  with  the  Unionists  to-day,  and  says 
that  their  hate  of  Asquith  overrides  all  other  considerations 
and  that  they  will  not  back  him  to-morrow  in  the  Maurice 
debate.  Carson  says  that  it  is  no  use  for  him  to  speak, 
as  he  will  have  no  following.  I  told  him  that  it  was  the 
man  who  mattered  and  not  the  mob.  He  says  that  the 
Sinn  Feiners  have  been  proved  to  be  in  correspondence 
with  the  Germans,  and  that  the  Boches  recently  landed  from 
submarines,  including  one  in  Galway  Bay,  have  confessed 
everything.  Carson  gave  us  some  amusing  stories  from 
the  old  War  Cabinets,  and  quoted  two  sets  of  sarcastic 
verses  which  he  had  made  during  these  Cabinets,  but,  alas  ! 
I  cannot  remember  them.  I  left  early  to  talk  to  Sir  M. 
Bonham -Carter  at  Brooks's,  but  I  have  no  illusions  about 
the  debate  and  the  division  now  that  the  Unionists  will  not 
play  up.  There  will  be  a  flaming  ex  parte  statement  by  L.  G. 
and  no  one  in  the  House  with  the  knowledge  to  reply  to  it. 


1918]  EVENTS  IN  FRANCE  2599 

Thursday,  May  9.  My  article  on  Maurice  coined  out. 
Lunched  at  the  Spanish  Embassy.  Very  agreeable  party: 
the  Lyttons,  Lady  Ooizon,  Lady  tie  Tratl'ord,  and  de 
Xoailles.  Much  talk  about  current  events  and  people. 
I  am  told  that  there  is  trouble  brewing  in  Morocco  between 
Spain  and  France,  and  a  talk  of  us  exchanging  Gibraltar 
against  Tangier,  Spain  having  (lib.  and  France  all  Morocco. 
This  would  suit  neither  us  nor  Spain.  I  can't  think  what 
lunatics  should  raise  Buch  a  question  at  such  a  time.  We 
got  on  to  the  Paris  Embassy  of  course.  I  said  that  it  had 
been  used  as  a  waste-paper  basket  for  discarded  politicians, 
and  I  gave  the  French  Press  description  of  Lord  Derby  as 
'le  type  accompli  d'un  Lord-farmer.'  Lady  Lytton  looking 
very  lovely,  and  was  very  charming.  Discussed  many 
matters  with  the  wife  of  the  Ambassador,  who  was  very 
ga3'  and  amusing.  Lady  Curzon  produced  a  phial  of  amber 
and  anointed  our  cigarettes  with  a  drop  of  it.  Could  not 
get  it  out  of  my  holder  all  the  afternoon.  It  is  said  to 
give  visions  and  to  leave  no  one  responsible  for  his  or  her 
action.  A  dangerous  drug.  A  discussion  on  ladies'  boots, 
and  whether  toes  should  be  pointed  or  square.  We  decitled 
that  it  did  not  matter  for  the  ladies  present  as  they  could 
wear  anything.  Some  political  talk.  All  agree  that  the 
ernmenl  are  sale  to-day.  Walked  down  the  Mall  with  de 
Nbailles.  He  Bays  that  things  are  now  straightened  out 
in  France  and  relations  excellent.  We  have  thirty  French 
and  British  utilisable  divisions  in  reserve,  and  it  is  thought 
that  we  can  hold,  but  a  big  attack  is  expected  any  moment, 
and  tin-  Amiens  Montdidier  sector  is  the  most  probable 
objective.  We  raised  the  Channel  ports  question  at 
Abbeville,  and  Clemenoeau  would  Dot  hear  of  it  as  it  pre- 
sumed that  we  should  be  beaten,  which  he  would  nol  admit. 
The  Boohes  have  .1  superiority  over  us  in  divisions.  We 
British  have  ten  divisions  withdrawn  for  reconstituting. 
Twelve  battalions  are  coming  to  us  from  Salonika.  Sat 
on  the  Advisory  Committee  in  the  afternoon.  Dined  with 
1  >  iv  fldassereene,  and  found  Mrs.  Astor,  Mrs.  Chaplin, 
Lady  Idina  Wallace,  Lad)-  de  Trafiford,  Genera]  Branoker, 

VOL.    IJ.  X 


3oo  ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

Lord  Leitrim,  and  Lord  Edward  Gleichen.  A  gay 
party. 

Friday,  May  10.  Studied  the  debate  on  Maurice's 
charges.  The  Government  majority  was  187.  I  must 
answer  the  P.M.  Called  in  to  see  Lady  M.  and  discussed 
the  possible  purchase  of  a  paper  by  a  friend  of  hers. 
Lunched  at  Londonderry  House  with  Lady  Londonderry. 
C.  came  in  later  from  a  journey.  Hear  that  Lord  French 
goes  to  Ireland  to-night  with  Shaw  as  G.O.C.  troops.  French 
will  be  at  the  Royal  Hospital,  and  no  one  will  be  at  the  Vice- 
Regal  Lodge.  It  looks  like  a  Military  Governorship  and 
an  intention  to  harass  the  Sinn  Feiners.  Perhaps  a  com- 
pact between  L.  G.  and  the  Unionists  to  keep  him  in  office. 
I  liked  Laszlo's  drawing  of  C.  and  his  large  picture  of 
Lady  Londonderry.  The  big  rooms  still  full  of  wounded 
officers.  Tea  with  Juliet  Duff.  Dined  with  Sir  William 
and  Lady  Robertson  and  Sir  F.  and  Lady  Maurice.  We 
had  a  good  talk  about  events.  M.  disappointed  at 
the  result  of  his  action,  which  we  all  thought  had  done 
harm  in  some  ways  though  it  had  vindicated  the  Army. 
Lady  M.  very  firm  and  courageous  about  it  all.  We 
hear  that  Allenby  is  indeed  on  his  way  home.  We  are 
all  delighted  at  Roger  Keyes  completing  his  job  on  the 
Belgian  coast  by  apparently  blocking  Ostend  with  the 
Vindictive.  We  think  that  the  Boche  attack  is  going  to 
be  hot  when  it  comes,  and  that  the  Arras-Montdidier 
front  will  be  the  locality  of  the  main  attack.  M.  thinks 
that  we  have  thirty-eight  divisions  in  reserve,  French  and 
English. 

Saturday,  May  11.  I  received  to-day  the  figures  which 
enable  me  to  reply  to  L.  G.'s  last  speech. 

These  figures  show  that  we  had  1,069,831  British  fighting 
troops  on  Jan.  1,  1917,  and  969,283  on  Jan.  1,  1918. 

Thus  General  Maurice  was  correct  in  stating  that  our 
fighting  strengths  had  diminished.  L.  G.  was  only  able  to 
claim  that  our  strengths  had  increased  by  including  labour 
as  fighting  men. 


1918]  MAURICE  ON  THE  POSITION  301 

Maurice  came  up  to  Maryon  in  the  morning,  and  we  went 
through  these  figures  and  the  report  of  L.  G.'s  speech.     I 
learnt  that  Maurice  had  been  away  in  Fiance.  April  14  to  18, 
and  had  there  lcamt  the  strong  feelings  caused  by  L.  G.'s 
statements.     He  had   left    the  W.O..  Saturday.  April  20, 
for  a  week's  leave  and  had  formally  handed  over  his  duties, 
April  29.     His  letter  to  Sir  H.  Wilson,  complaining  of  L.  G.'s 
figure-,  was  dated  April  30.     To  that  letter  he  is  still  without 
a  reply.     The  causes  of  our  defeats  in  France  we  attribute 
to  L.  G.'s  failure  to  keep  up  establishments  and  strengths,  to 
the  Eastern  adventures,  to  the  extension  of  our  line,  to  the 
departure  of  the  two  Indian  cavalry  divisions  for  Palestine, 
and  to  the  despatch  of  troops  to  Italy.     Maurice  tells  me 
how  seriously  the  sudden  change  of  organisation  of  the  in- 
fantry divisions  in  France  affected  efficiency,  and  how  bad 
it  was  to  make  all  the  changes  all  at  once,  instead  of  slowly 
as  in  the  French  Army.     He  thinks  our  losses  are  now  258,000 
and  the  French  70,000,  and  that  the  supposed  German  loss  of 
400,000  men  has  exhausted  the  German  depots.     He  tells 
me  that  Haig  told  the  Cabinet  on  December  15  last  that  he 
could  only  take  over  a  two-division  front  to  St.  Quentin, 
and   only  then  if  kept  up  to  strength.     Any  further  ex- 
tension, he  told  them,  would  be  on  the  responsibility  of  the 
1 1  ivernment.   The  point  about  Maurice's  charge  n  Versailles 
was  to  make  the  Government  accept  responsibility  for  the 
extension,  as  they  had  in  fact  assumed  it.     M.  declares  that 
I.    C.  told  the  Versailles  Council  that  he  had  always  been 
Convinced  that  we  were  over-insured  in  the  West! 
Sir  Frederick  and  Lady  Maurice  dined  at  Maryon.     He 
eived  hi    ' blue  pill '  and  has  been  placed  on  retired 
pay  Cot  hi-   breacb  <>f  the   King's   Regulations.    He  has 
Opted    ■     handsome  offer  from    the    I)<iih/   Chronicle   to 
write  for  them,    oheii  financially  a  Vabri .    We  had  a  good 
talk  ova  the  article  which  I  have  written  "n  hi-  case,  and 
ov*i-  hit  lir-t  letter  to  his  !>.<'.  readers.    They  are  both 
.  e  ftboul  i  ••<iy  thing. 
mday,  May  13      Finished  an  article  on  the  war.    My 


302  ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

Maurice  article  not  back  from  the  Censor  yet.  Lunched  with 
Lady  Paget,  who  has  been  ill  with  a  liver  chill,  to  meet 
Mr.  Otto  Kahn  of  America,  who  brought  a  charming  daughter 
with  him.  The  American  Mr.  Robinson  and  M.  Bardac 
also  there.  Kahn  a  shortish  thick-set  man  of  middle  age, 
evidently  very  capable,  and  talked  well.  He  was  interesting 
on  the  subject  of  President  Wilson,  who  told  him  once  that 
he  had  a  single-track  mind  with  no  sidings  and  that  con- 
versations with  active  men  devitalised  him.  This  is  why 
the  President  does  not  surround  himself  with  first -rate  men. 
He  plays  golf  daily  and  has,  even  now,  only  one  weekly 
Cabinet  with  seven  men  at  it.  There  is  no  War  Cabinet  as 
such,  but  K.  thinks  that  there  will  be  a  Republican  majority 
at  the  Congressional  elections  in  the  autumn,  and  that  then 
Congress  will  insist  upon  better  co-ordination  of  effort. 
Wilson  reserves  himself  for  the  big  things.  K.  thinks  him 
a  tyrant,  but  courageous  and  single-minded.  He  will  not 
hear  of  any  after-war  preparation  as  it  is  opposed  to  his 
idealism.  He  is  fanatically  opposed  to  Kaiserism,  and  stops 
Japan  entering  Siberia  from  the  idealism  which  makes  him 
still  believe  that  liberty  is  stalking  through  Russia.  K. 
thinks  that  he  has  no  sense  of  realities,  but  is,  after  all,  the 
biggest  figure  on  the  Allied  side.  K.  is  a  Republican  in 
politics.  He  says  that  the  U.S.  will  produce  6,000,000  tons 
of  shipping  in  a  year,  but  that  aeroplanes  are  awful  and  all 
are  much  disgusted  with  their  failure.  He  says  that  Baker, 
the  War  Secretary,  sought  for  ideal  perfection  instead  of 
getting  on  with  the  good  sound  models,  but  he  hopes  that 
the  Liberty  engine  is  going  to  be  all  right.  He  says  that 
120,000  men  have  come  over  during  the  last  six  weeks. 
He  thought  that  95  per  cent,  of  the  German- Americans  were 
now  solid  for  the  cause,  and  that  all  the  West  and  Middle 
West  were  now  well  in.  They  tarred  and  feathered  men 
daily  for  any  pro-German  ideas,  and  some  were  whipped. 
One  township  which  had  not  subscribed  to  the  Liberty  loan 
was  raided  by  armed  men  and  each  man  made  to  subscribe 
according  to  his  means.     Otto  Kahn  has  played  a  leading 


1918]  COLONEL  SLOCUM  303 

role  in  making  Americans  of  German  extraction  solid  in  the 
good  cause. 

Tuesday,  May  14.  I  had  an  article  on  the  military  position 
to-day.  Went  to  see  Massingham  at  the  Nation  office  and 
gave  him  the  points  of  my  article  rejected  by  the  Censor  to 
help  him  in  dealing  with  the  Maurice  case.  We  agreed  that 
the  tyranny  of  the  Government  surpassed  all  limits.  It  was 
the  most  shameless  time,  and  the  most  corrupt  in  our  modern 
history.  Lunched  with  Maud  and  Arthur  Robert.  Went  with 
Maud  to  get  her  passport  at  the  Embassy.  Looked  in  to 
have  a  talk  with  Colonel  Slocum,  the  Military  Attache.  He 
remarked  how  big  a  thing  it  was  that  America  was  doing  in 
having  no  Army  in  France  and  in  giving  it  all  to  Foch  and 
us.  Did  we  realise  their  self-sacrifice  ?  They  had  three  of 
their  divisions  holding  sectors  in  the  East,  and  they  had  one 
north  of  Montdidier  and  two  coming  up  probably  to  Amiens. 
Thej-  had  put  21,000  men  already  by  battalions  into  our 
divisions,  and  32,000  more  were  arriving.  They  were  pre- 
senting 35,000  men  a  week,  and  yet  Pershing  had  no  Army 
and  practically  nothing  to  command.  It  was  all  arranged 
by  Baker  with  the  President's  approval.  I  must  certainly 
allude  to  it.  S.  says  that  there  are  207  divisions  of  Boches 
in  France  now  and  the  Allies  have  170  divisions,  but  the 
American  divisions  are  over  27,000  strong.  We  discussed 
guns,  aeroplanes,  the  Browning  machine  gun,  etc.  He  tells 
me  that  the  Liberty  engine  was  at  first  of  no  use  except  for 
bombing  squadrons,  but  that  now  the  type  was  all  right, 
and  he  hoped  to  see  10,000  by  the  fall  of  the  year.  The 
Browning  was  also  good  now.  They  knew  that  they  had 
made  great  mistakes,  but  hoped  that  things  were  righting 
themselves.  The  regiment  that  marched  through  London 
yesterday  had  had  only  four  months'  training.  It  had  taken 
eighteen  days  on  the  voyage.  The  Olympic  had  cut  down  a 
German  [J-boa1  off  the  [ale  of  Wight  and  had  saved  three 
officers  and  twelve  men.  A  second  U-boat  had  been  sunk 
by  a  depth  oharge.  The  American  casualties  were  not 
published  here,  and  it  was  1  pity.    I  agreed.    Dined  with 


3o4  ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

Lord  and  Lady  Lamington  at  26  Wilton  Crescent,  and  found 
their  daughter  and  Lord  and  Lady  Scarbrough.  A  very 
pleasant  evening.  Scarbrough  said  that  he  had  read  again 
my  article  of  Jan.  24,  and  that  it  was  this  article  which  had 
hit  the  Cabinet  so  hard  and  could  not  be  answered.  I  had 
done  my  duty,  and  he  advised  me  to  turn  to  the  war  again 
and  to  restrict  myself  to  it. 

Met  Sir  George  Aston  to-day.  He  has  taken  a  post  on 
the  War  Cabinet,  and  I  am  glad.  He  pointed  out  to  me 
the  unprecedentedly  close  and  cordial  co-operation  of  the 
two  fighting  services  in  this  war. 

Wednesday,  May  15.  Lunched  with  Lord  and  Lady 
Beresford  and  Sir  Robert  Hudson,  the  latter  of  the  National 
Liberal  Federation  for  many  years  and  a  shrewd  perspica- 
cious man.  Much  talk  of  politics  and  the  war.  The 
Admiral  said  that  at  a  private  meeting  at  the  Lords  his 
friends  had  decided  that  they  could  not  win  the  war  with 
L.  G.,  but  did  not  know  how  to  unseat  him.  The  Admiral 
and  I  agreed  entirely  on  the  role  of  policy  and  strategy  in 
war,  and  on  the  undesirability  of  having  soldiers  or  sailors  in 
the  Cabinet.  Dined  with  the  Ernest  Cunards  at  27  Portman 
Square.  Also  there  were  Lord  Lurgan,  Lady  Sarah  Wilson, 
Sir  Seymour  Fortescue,  Mrs.  Arthur  James,  Sir  Lionel  Earle, 
and  Lady  Esme  Gordon  Lennox,  Lord  de  Ramsey's  daughter. 
A  pleasant  party  as  always  and  everything  very  perfect, 
rooms,  dinner,  wine  and  the  dinner  table  with  the  Water- 
ford  glass.  Mrs.  James  is  keeping  on  her  horses  at  New- 
market for  the  time  with  George  Lambton.  Lady  Esme 
an  interesting  neighbour  at  dinner.  We  talked  after  of 
politics.  Played  Bridge.  We  were  so  noisy  that  Lady 
Sarah  came  in  to  protest  from  the  next  room.  We  chaffed 
all  the  time. 

Thursday,  May  16.  Dined  with  Lady  Massereene,  who 
had  Lord  Crewe,  Sir  Sidney  Greville,  Jack  Cowans,  Lord 
and  Lady  Dufferin,  the  Count  de  Noailles,  the  Eric 
Chaplins,  Mrs.  Ronny  Greville,  and  one  or  two  more. 
Talked  with  Crewe  of  the  old  invasion  inquiries  in   1907 


1918]  LORD  CREWE'S  VIEWS  305 

and  1913.  He  regretted  that  we  had  not  examined  the 
Continental  questions  and  that  we  had  only  taken  up  in- 
vasion, but  I  reminded  him  that  any  one  who  had  talked  of 
Continental  war  in  those  days  would  have  been  derided  and 
placed  in  the  Tower  or  in  Bedlam.  I  said  that  Lord  Roberts 
had  frequently  tried  to  open  up  the  larger  issues  and  had 
never  been  allowed.  Crewe  thought  that  the  Belgian 
question  might  have  been  raised,  but  that  it  would  have 
depended  on  the  prevalent  feeling  at  the  F.O.  Jack  told 
us  that  the  Central  Administration  alone  of  the  Food 
Control  cost  £3,500,000,  of  which  £1,800,000  in  wages,  and 
that  the  printing  bill  of  the  Stationery  Office  was  over 
a  million.  The  most  appalling  extravagance  was  going  on 
everywhere,  and  Crewe  said  that  it  was  like  the  astronomical 
figures  which  were  so  big  that  they  could  not  be  grasped. 
I  said  that  all  M.P.s  would  soon  have  £5000  a  year  and 
every  workman  £10  a  week.  Then  every  one  would  want 
the  war  to  go  on  and  there  would  be  no  end  to  it.  Mrs. 
Ronny's  Scottish  soul  revolted  against  the  cost  of  it  all. 
De  Noailles  told  us  when  I  was  talking  of  the  chateaus  in 
Northern  France  that  in  the  Regency  days  an  Early  Victorian 
movement  had  swept  over  that  part  of  the  country  and 
accounted  for  the  appalling  taste  of  the  great  houses. 
Jack  and  1  left  together.  He  said  that  things  had  been 
worse  during  the  last  fortnight  than  ever  before.  The 
French,  British,  and  American  troops  wero  all  mixed 
up.  The  result  was  that  administration  was  becoming 
chaotic.  Jack  had  lost  some  twenty  hay  ships  tor- 
pedoed lately,  and  5000  horses  had  died  in  consequence. 
1  k  and  others  thought  that  there  would  not  be  an 
oversea  attack  on  us.  The  Kaiser  had  often  said  to  him 
that  he  would  not  care  to  be  the  man  to  undertako  it. 
The  Army  Council  had  written  some  stiff  letters  about 
supply.  Miliicr  was  doing  well.  Allenby  said  to  be 
at  home. 

Friday,  May  L7.    Took  two  proofs  of  my  Memoirs,  which 
I  am  calling  Vestigia,  to  the  Press  Bureau,  and  had  a  chat 


306  ZEEBRUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

with  Sir  E.  Cook  and  Sir  Frank  Swettenham.  The  latter 
showed  me  the  Official  Secrets  Act  of  1911,  and  the  clause 
which  makes  it  illegal  for  people  to  write  about  things  which 
they  have  learnt  in  an  official  capacity.  I  assumed  that  this 
was  a  friendly  hint  for  Fred  Maurice,  and  passed  it  on  to 
him.  The  Press  Bureau  have  not  forgiven  the  Times  for 
their  treatment  of  Sir  F.  E.  Smith. 

Saturday,  May  18,  to  Sunday,  May  26.  Down  to  Coombe, 
and  a  very  pleasant  week-end  in  lovely  weather,  very  hot, 
the  gardens  gorgeous  and  the  finest  show  of  azalias  and 
rhododendrons  conceivable.  Otto  Kahn  and  his  pretty 
daughter  turned  up,  with  Mr.  Cravath  the  head  of  the 
American  Financial  Commission  in  England,  also  Mrs.  Astor, 
Lord  DAbernon,  Vansittart,  Bardac,  Schneider  the  French 
flyer,  Mme.  Chasseloup  Laubart,  Mrs.  O'Neill,  and  others. 
Talked  a  good  deal  with  the  two  Americans,  and  found  them 
anxious  about  Italy  and  asked  me  what  would  happen 
if  Italy  went  out.  I  replied  that  the  French  Alpine 
frontier  would  be  proof  against  attack  as  it  was  so  strong. 
They  were  uneasy  about  administrative  questions  in  France, 
and  said  that  the  French  and  English  did  not  get  on  really 
well  and  could  not  understand  each  other.  Kahn  re- 
commended me  to  write  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  as  it  would 
reach  all  the  best  people,  and  said  that  the  New  York 
World  was  distributing  my  articles  widely  among  the  middle 
classes.  I  should  find  that  every  one  knew  all  about  me 
and  my  views  if  I  went  out  there.  He  said  that  the  Americans 
paid  much  attention  to  personalities  and  appreciated  my 
writings  though  I  never  went  in  for  gush  nor  appealed  to 
the  masses.  D'Abernon  started  the  interesting  idea  that  this 
was  a  war  of  opinion  and  almost  a  religious  war  of  the  old 
type,  because  Kaiserism  was  practically  the  Boche  religion. 
A  good  idea  to  work  out.  On  Sunday  night  a  big  air  raid 
on  London,  and  we  went  out  into  the  garden  to  watch  it. 
The  raid  went  on  from  11  to  past  1  a.m.  A  tremendous  bar- 
rage and  many  searchlights.  We  heard  the  Boche  plane 
very  distinctly.  A  wonderful  sight,  and  we  had  a  good 
view  of  it.    In  the  morning  I  was  glad  to  hear  that  Mary  on 


1918]  KEYES  ON  HIS  OPERATIONS  307 

was  all  right,  but  many  bombs  had  fallen  in  the  West 
End,  at  the  top  of  Portland  Place  and  into  Robinson 
and  Fisher's  opposite  Christie's,  and  so  on.  Some  200 
people  killed  and  injured.  We  returned  to  town  late  on 
Monday  evening. 

I  was  occupied  the  rest  of  the  week  in  writing  an 
article  for  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  and  on  Food  Supplies 
and  Prisoners  of  War  for  the  Post.  The  French  have  let 
us  down  about  our  prisoners,  and  have  concluded  an 
arrangement  with  the  Germans  without  telling  us.  They 
are  exchanging  330,000  all  told,  including  Belgians,  after 
we  had  all  agreed  against  the  principle  of  an  exchange. 
Admiral  Keyes  writes  to  me  that  Ostend  is  not  blocked 
and  that  the  announcement  that  it  was  had  infuriated  him. 
He  had  bad  luck,  as  his  second  blocking  ship  had  a  boiler 
accident  only  a  few  miles  short  of  her  destination  and  so 
could  not  be  sent  in.  He  says  that  no  attempt  has  been 
made  to  clear  Zeebrugge,  and  that  Bruges  is  still  full  of 
Boche  T.B.s  and  submarines.  He  fears  that  soon  the 
enemy  will  be  able  to  get  out  the  small  craft  under  the 
Iphigenias  stern,  but  says  that  they  will  have  difficulty 
in  keeping  the  passage  open  and  that  they  have  had  to 
remove  a  pier  abreast  of  the  Intrepid.  He  also  says  that 
between  300  and  400  men  landed  on  the  mole  and  were 
there  over  an  hour.  The  Bodies  say  that  only  twelve  men 
landed,  and  that  all  were  captured.  A  good  example  of 
their  lying.  He  writes  more  about  invasion,  expressing  a 
strong  disbelief  in  it,  and  declaring  that  the  navigational 
difficulties  of  getting  a  large  fleet  of  transports  out  of  the 
Bight,  mined  as  it  now  is,  cannot  possibly  be  exaggerated. 
He  also  thinks  that,  with  the  air  reconnaissance  now  estab- 
lished al  Yarmouth,  the  'approach'  for  some  months  to 
come  is  bound  to  be  detected  a  great  distance  away. 

Finished  the  Atlantic  Monthly  article  in  the  course  of  the 
week,  and  wrote  another  for  the  Post  on  German  views  of 
the  situation  and  on  the  Waffenbund  between  Germany  and 
Austria.     Lord  French  has  arrested  all  the  Sinn  Fein  leaders 

on  a  charge  of  conspiracy  with  the  Bodies.     On  Saturday, 


3o8  ZEEBKUGGE  AND  OSTEND 

May  25,  the  official  explanation  was  published.  Very  lame, 
and  no  evidence  on  which  one  could  convict  any  one  of  them. 
The  opinion  is  that  it  would  have  been  much  better  to  have 
arrested  them  under  '  Dora  ' l  for  seditious  talk  than  to  have 
dragged  in  an  Irish-German  conspiracy  and  to  have  given 
so  little  evidence  of  it. 

1  The  Defence  of  the  Realm  Act. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 
.MAY  AND  JUNE  1918 

Third  Phase  of  the  German  Offensive — The  Rheiins-Soissons  front 
assaulted — Loss  of  the  Chemin  des  Dames  position — General  Mahon 
on  Ireland — The  great  effort  of  America  in  troop-transport — The 
Germans  claim  175,000  prisoners  and  2000  guns  since  March  21 — A 
visit  to  Polesden-Lacey — Some  interesting  conversations — The  Fourth 
Phase  of  the  German  attack— The  Montdidier-Noyon  front  assailed — 
A  visit  to  the  Abbey  House,  Colchester — Expeditions  to  Archangel 
and  Vladivostok  —  The  Austrian  offensive  against  Italy  begins 
June  16 — The  attack  repulsed — Mr.  Montagu  on  India's  military 
affairs — The  first  million  Americans  arrive — My  memorandum  on  the 
war  for  the  Colonial  Premiers — Conversations  at  Coombe — Admiral 
Sims  on  the  U-boat  war — Major  Robert  Bacon's  table  of  past  and 
future  American  arrivals — General  Maurice's  views  on  the  Western 
front. 

Monday,  May  27.  Third  Phase.  This  morning  came  the 
news  that  after  the  long  standfast  in  the  West  the  Germans 
have  again  attacked  on  the  front  Rheims-Soissons  against 
English  and  French,  and  in  the  north  on  theLocre-Vermezeele 
line  against  the  French.  In  the  course  of  the  day  we  had 
to  infer  that  much  of  the  Chemin  des  Dames  is  lost  to  us. 
Barnes  in  a  speech  wondered  why  the  Germans  knew  so 
much  and  admitted  that  they  had  attacked  a  weak  point, 
but  the  order  went  out  later  for  his  speech  to  be  suppressed 
after  it  had  been  on  all  the  tapes  in  the  clubs  and  in  the 
evening  papers.  In  the  afternoon  to  the  Post,  where 
Gwynne  tells  me  that  the  Government  arc  still  warm  on  the 
■oppression  of  the  paper,  which  they  wish  to  destroy  as  it  is 
OHO  of  the  few  independent  morning  papers  left.  So  we 
have  t"  be  rery  cautions.  Will  history  ever  realise  the 
dirty   games    played    by   this    administration  and  its   l'ress 

3UU 


3io    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

gang  ?  Wrote  an  article  for  the  Post.  Dined  with  the 
Walter  Burnses,  and  met  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Montagu — he  just 
back  from  his  long  tour  in  India,  having  lost  two  stone 
in  weight — Sir  Lionel  Earle,  Mrs.  Greville,  Colonel  Edward 
Coke,  a  Swedish  Count,  Miss  Elizabeth  Asquith,  Lady 
Granard,  and  Mrs.  Arthur  James.  Montagu  and  I  talked 
of  India's  future  war  problems.  He  agrees  with  me  to  place 
the  Eastern  questions  under  India,  though  he  doubts  that 
the  War  Cabinet  will  agree,  and  says  that  he  can  raise 
500,000  more  men  if  allowed  to  go  about  it  his  own  way, 
and  that  if  India  rules  the  Eastern  campaigns  her  Civil 
Government  must  be  strengthened.  He  spoke  most  highly 
of  Charles  Monro  and  said  that  he  was  admirable  in  Council. 
We  were  not  at  all  happy  about  the  news  from  France.  It 
looks  as  if  we  had  been  surprised  again.  Edward  Coke, 
just  back  from  France,  anathematised  all  the  politicians 
without  mercy  after  dinner.  I  was  glad  to  have  such  a 
hearty  supporter.  He  says  that  the  soldiers  mean  to  say  a 
lot  when  they  all  come  home.  Please  God  they  will.  Lyon 
told  me  to-day  that  Clemenceau  had  sent  over  an  expert  to 
look  into  our  Man-Power  problem  three  weeks  ago. 

Tuesday,  May  28.  Last  night's  communiques  from  France 
and  those  of  this  morning  are  quite  bad.  On  the  Aisne  from 
Berry-au-Bac  to  the  Foret  de  Pinon,  on  a  front  of  some 
thirty  miles,  the  Boches  have  run  over  the  French  and  have 
pursued  them  to  the  river  and  over  it.  Four  of  our  divisions 
astride  the  Aisne  at  Berry-au-Bac  involved  in  the  defeat. 
They  were  tired  divisions,  two  having  been  with  Gough, 
and  had  been  sent  to  this  supposed  quiet  sector  for  a  rest ! 
It  was  a  three -hour  bombardment,  and  then  the  Boches 
came  on  in  masses  as  on  March  21.  It  was  practically  a 
surprise,  and  I  expect  that  the  Allies  have  lost  a  good  lot 
of  men  and  guns.  The  battle  goes  on  south  of  the  Aisne  and 
the  Boches  are  not  checked  yet.  The  initiative  being  with 
the  Boches  is  the  very  devil.  Lunched  with  Hubert  Gough 
at  the  Naval  and  Military  Club. 

Wednesday,  May  29.  Tried  a  new  Greek  restaurant  in 
Soho  with  Maud  and  Arthur  Robert,  and  we  had  a  mighty 


1918]  MAHON  ON  IRELAND  311 

bad  lunch.  Afterwards  1  had  a  talk  with  General  Sir  Bryan 
Malum,  late  C.-in-C.  in  Ireland.  He  said  that  he  had  pre- 
pared for  the  arrest  of  the  Sinn  Feiners  months  ago,  and  had 
011I3-  been  awaiting  the  word.  But  he  had  disagreed  with 
Lord  French's  Proclamation  w  Inch  accused  the  Sinn  Feiners 
of  intriguing  with  Germany  and  asked  Ireland  to  take  up 
voluntary  service.  French  had  brought  the  Proclamation 
with  him  from  the  War  Cabinet  in  London,  and  had  shown 
it  to  Mahon,  who  had  disapproved  of  it  and  had  so  informed 
French.  Mahon  said  that  there  were  no  proofs  of  the 
German  Sinn  Fein  plot,  and  that  it  was  quite  unnecessary 
to  (bag  it  in.  The  seditious  speeches  and  acts  of  the  Sinn 
Feiners  were  quite  enough  to  act  upon,  as  they  had  broken 
the  Defence  of  the  Realm  Act. 

New,  Ireland  had  been  insulted,  and  even  the  Unionists 
were  angry,  while  the  Government  could  not  produce  the 
evidence  to  convict  the  men  arrested  and  would  get  into 
needless  trouble  about  it.  Mahon  says  that  no  rebellion 
in  Ireland  will  take  place.  There  are  over  80,000  troops 
there,  of  which  40,000  effectives,  and  our  armoured  cars 
and  aeroplanes  make  risings  impracticable.  He  says  that 
French  is  going  to  try  and  work  on  Mahon's  plan  for  raising 
200,000  men,  but  Mahon  says  that  the  Proclamation  and 
the  arrests  have  changed  things  and  that  his  former  plan 
cannot  now  be  enforced.  The  R.C.  Church  has  got  hold  of 
the  'conscientious  objector'  clause,  and  the  Irish  are  being 
advised  to  appeal  under  it.  It  is  a  deliciously  Irish  idea  for 
the  youth  of  that  country,  who  are  such  tigers  at  fighting 
anybody,  to  describe  themselves  as  conscientious  objectors. 
Mahon  does  not  know  what  the  Government  propose  to  do 
with  him,  but  he  has  written  to  Milner  and  has  offered  to 
ntire  BO  that  he  may  be  employed  again  in  any  rank. 

Thursday,  May  30.  I  had  another  article  on  the  battle 
in  this  morning's  Post.  The  Aisne  fight  has  gone  precious 
badly.  The  enemy  has  crossed  both  the  Aisne  and  the 
Vesle  and  threatens  to  take  Soissons  and  Rheims.  I  have 
suggested  that  better  means  must  be  found  for  preventing 
these  surprises,  but  that  it  is  the  German  initiative  arising 


3i2    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

from  our  lack  of  troops  that  has  caused  the  trouble. 
Lunched  with  Olive,  Lady  Leslie,  Sir  Vincent  Caillard,  and 
Colonel  Heaton -Ellis.  Caillard  says  that  they  have  100,000 
workers  at  Vickers  now,  including  35,000  women.  They 
are  given  a  minimum  standard  to  reach  in  guns,  and  as 
much  more  as  they  can  turn  out,  but  they  can  only 
reach  the  minimun  standard  with  difficulty  as  labour  is 
so  much  less  efficient  than  it  was.  He  expects,  as  I  do, 
that  there  will  be  a  considerable  loss  of  guns  in  the 
battle.  I  write  an  article  on  some  minor  American  and 
Italian  successes. 

An  unknown  lady,  Miss  A.  Blake-Forster,  writes  to  me 
from  Caballero  de  Gracie,  Madrid,  as  follows  : 

Dear  Colonel, — I  should  be  so  glad  if  you  would  kindly 
tell  me  who  Lord  French  is  ?  I  should  so  love  to  know. 
Nobody  here  knows.  I  am  nearly  related  to  the  double  ff 
ffrenches,  and  should  so  like  to  know  who  Lord  French  is  and 
where  he  was  born.     It  interests  me  so  much. 

What,  indeed,  is  fame  ! 

Friday,  May  31.  The  battle  continues  to  go  against 
us.  Lunched  with  Mrs.  Greville :  the  Max-Mullers,  Lady 
Randolph  and  her  young  man,  Maguire,  Count  Frasso,  the 
Walter  Rubenses,  and  a  few  more.  Lady  R.  charming  about 
her  future.  Mr.  Porch  quite  good-looking  and  intelligent. 
They  get  married  to-morrow  and  go  to  Windsor  for  the  week- 
end. Winston  says  that  he  hopes  marriage  won't  become 
the  vogue  among  ladies  of  his  mother's  age.  Lord  Haldane 
dined  at  Maryon,  and  I  showed  him  the  chapters  in  Vestigia 
which  concerned  him  most,  and  he  approved  of  them  and 
found  no  errors.  He  thought  that  my  account 1  of  the 
military  conversations  with  the  French  was  a  chapter  of 
history  that  had  to  be  written,  and  was  the  introduction  to 
all  that  followed.     We  talked  much  of  the  war. 

Saturday,  June   1.     The  battle  still  goes  badly  for  us. 

1  The  Censor's  advisers  would  not  allow  this  account  to  be  published 
during  the  war,  so  I  have  embodied  it  now  in  these  volumes,  vid$ 
Chapter  I. 


1918]      DIRECTING  CIRCLES  PARALYSED       313 

The  Boches  have  reached  the  Marne  between  Chateau- 
Thierry  and  Dormans,  while  the  French  are  retiring  from 
the  Ailette.  Saw  Leo  Maxse  and  Temple  at  the  Globe 
office,  and  had  a  good  talk  with  them  about  affairs.  I 
returned  my  Vestigia  proof  to  the  Press  Bureau.  Saw  X. 
at  the  P.O.  and  showed  him  the  Kaiser  letters.  Found 
him  gloomy  about  the  war.  L.  G.,  Balfour,  and  Milner 
are  in  Paris.  He  asked  me  about  Maurice's  action  and 
I  told  him  all  that  I  knew.  He  and  Balfour  have  a  high 
opinion  of  Maurice's  ability,  and  X.  told  me  how  well  M. 
had  stuck  to  his  points  in  the  War  Cabinet  debates,  and 
how  surprised  X.  and  A.  J.  B.  were  at  M.'s  action.  X. 
confirmed  to  me  that  Hardinge  had  been  obliged  to  go 
to  the  French  Embassy  late  on  the  Saturday  night  to 
get  Cambon  to  telephone  to  Poincare  for  his  agrement  about 
Derby,  as  no  Ambassador  could  be  appointed  without  the 
approval  of  the  Head  of  the  State.  Later  in  the  evening 
a  letter  had  been  telegraphed  to  Lord  Bertie  in  cipher, 
so  the  story  of  the  latter  having  been  awakened  in  the 
night  to  hear  the  news  of  his  supersession  is  no  doubt 
accurate.  X.  says  that  the  whole  thing  was  done  in  the 
most  indecent  manner,  and  he  evidently  disapproves 
altogether  of  Derby's  appointment.  He  wonders  whether 
any  one  is  fussing  about  the  separation  of  our  troops  and 
about  what  will  happen  to  the  troops  if  the  Boches  get  to 
Paris  and  the  French  want  to  give  in.  He  thinks  directing 
circles  here  are  paralysed.  I  said,  '  Thank  goodness,  now 
we  shall  win  !  '  A  very  hot  day.  Went  down  to  Coombe 
late. 

Sunday,  June  2.  A  pleasant  party,  including  Mr. 
.M<  Kenna,  Lady  Granard,  Miss  Kahn,  Vansittart,  Mr. 
Davis  and  Mr.  MoVioker  of  the  American  Embassy, 
Lord  and  Lady  D'Abernon,  Mrs.  O'Neill,  Lady  Lowther, 
the  Spanish  Ambassador  and  Mine.  Merry  del  Val,  Reggie 
Paget,  (i.  in  ral  Mahon,  and  a  few  more.  A  gorgeous  day. 
Much  talk  about  the  war  and  political  affairs  with  McKenna, 
Lady  D'Ahr-mon,  and  Lady  Granard,  and  much  tennis 
and  linil^"-     \\.  Kenna  and  1  an-  agreed  upon  all  the  main 


314    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

points  of  our  situation.  The  two  ladies  very  well  informed, 
and  thoroughly  realise  the  true  state  of  our  affairs.  Lady 
G.  told  me  that  my  conduct  throughout  was  universally 
approved.  The  two  American  men  and  I  agree  that  the 
war  must  go  on  no  matter  what  happens  in  France,  and 
that  we  must  steel  our  hearts  against  the  German  blackmail 
of  trying  to  squeeze  us  into  a  peace  by  squeezing  France. 
I  said  that  the  Germans  were  out  for  a  big  indemnity,  and 
McKenna  agreed,  thinking  however  that  Germany  could 
stand  her  internal  debt  though  she  believed  that  she  could 
not.  Lady  D'Abernon  plays  tennis  well  and  has  the  figure 
of  a  girl  still.  For  how  many  years  has  she  been  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  fair  women  in  England  ? 

Monday,  June  3.  Motored  back  with  Miss  Kahn  early 
to  London.  Wrote  on  the  battle.  Percy,  now  Duke  of 
Northumberland,  received  the  Press  privately  to-day  and 
told  them  that  the  French  Government  has  made  a  strongly 
worded  protest  against  a  statement,  which  he  had  made  on 
Friday  last,  which  unintentionally  convej^ed  the  impression 
that  we  doubted  the  French  accounts  of  the  situation. 
Our  Morning  Post  representative  received  the  impression 
that  our  governing  circles  are  dissatisfied  with  Foch's 
leading.  So  soon  ?  I  can  trace  the  origin  of  the  dis- 
satisfaction easily  enough.  Haig  was  in  Paris  last  Friday 
to  meet  our  Ministers.  They  cannot  be  having  a  cheery 
time.  But  for  the  first  time  since  May  27  the  Boche 
attack  is  locally  stayed,  and  yesterday  but  little  ground  was 
gained.  The  Bodies  have  all  the  ground  from  Rheims  to 
Chateau -Thierry  on  the  Marne  and  thence  north  to  Soissons. 
They  have  a  good  bit  of  the  angle  between  the  Oise  and  the 
Marne.  Foch  is  attacking  them  on  the  line  Chateau-Thierry- 
Soissons,  and  Gouraud  on  the  Rheims  side.  Most  people 
think  that  the  Boche  will  attack  on  the  Amiens  front  next 
before  he  marches  on  Paris.  If  he  does  not,  our  Armies 
will  gain  the  time  to  recover  and  be  reinforced. 

Tuesday,  June  4.  Gwynne  lunched  with  me  and  we  dis- 
cussed affairs  at  some  length.  We  continue  to  be  in  close 
agreement.     Wrote  an  article  for  the  Post  on  the  military 


1918]       AMERICAN  TRANSPORT  FEATS  315 

situation,  including  the  need  of  training  from  which  the 
Bodies  have  profited  so  much  behind  their  lines.  Dined  with 
Lady  Granard  at  Forbes  House  :  Mr.  and  .Mrs.  Asquith,  Jack 
Cowans,  Lady  de  Tr  a  fiord,  Lord  and  Lady  Midleton,  Sir 
Lionel  Earle.  Mr.  and  .Mrs.  MeKenna,  and  Mrs.  Cavendish 
Bentinck.  A  pleasant  party.  Mrs.  MeKcnna  says  that 
she  has  just  had  the  tenth  anniversary  of  her  wedding  and 
lias  been  ideally  happy  all  the  time.  Talked  with  Asquith 
and  MeKenna  after  dinner.  They  both  made  the  most 
severe  reflections  on  all  concerned  in  a  recent  case  in  the 
Law  Courts,  and  MeKenna  thought  it  made  public  life 
almost  impossible.  Asquith  much  interested  to  know 
how  the  Press  will  comment  on  it.  He  thought  Colvin 
by  far  the  best  leader  writer  on  the  Press,  though  he 
often  thought  him  wrong-headed.  Sir  William  Manning 
told  me  to-day  that  he  had  come  over  from  America 
with  a  convoy  of  fourteen  transports  conveying  40,000 
very  line  troops,  and  that  244,000  had  been  landed  in 
May.  Jack  Cowans  says  that  250,000  come  in  each  month 
June  and  July.  It  will  be  a  great  record  if  it  all  works  out 
and  we  are  not  beat  in  the  interval.  I  should  say  that 
with  the  Yankee  reinforcements,  our  troops  from  distant 
theatres,  our  youths  of  eighteen  and  a  half,  and  the 
sweepings  of  our  depots,  we  have  nearly  neutralised  the 
numerical  superiority  of  the  Boches  on  March  21  last.  If 
they  had  all  come  before  we  should  not  have  had  a  beating. 
Wedm  '/'///.  June  6.  Things  reverting  to  the  stationary 
in  France  for  the  moment,  and  not  much  change.  Wrote 
on  the  Manifesto  after  the  sixth  meeting  of  the  so-called 
Supreme  War  Council  and  on  the  value  of  America's  help. 
A  long  Tribunal,  and  I  was  half  an  hour  late  for  dinner  with 
Mrs.  Keppel  Found  there  Lady  Granard,  the  Montagus, 
Lady  Paget,  Mr.  Hamilton,  Evan  Charteris,  Lady  Esme 
( Sordou  Lennox.  Lord  Wemyss,  and  a  feu  more.  A  pleasant 
dinner,  after  which  we  discussed  public  affairs,  Montagu 
told    nie  that  George  Oumon  bad  turned  down  his  plans 

of    Indian   reform.      1    say    that    I    will    write    on    Eastern 

campaign!  and  idea  1.     Drove  1  he  Montagus  home, 
v"     n. 


3i6    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

Thursday,  June  6.  The  battle  still  stationary,  but  I  do 
not  much  like  the  reports  from  Paris  which  disclose  alarm, 
and  I  see  that  the  German  wireless,  which  we  do  not  publish, 
claims  to  have  taken  175,000  prisoners  and  over  2000  guns 
since  March  21.  Lunched  with  the  Massereenes  at  the  Ritz 
and  saw  a  lot  of  people.  Went  on  to  Mrs.  Astor's,  where  there 
came  in  Lady  Essex  and  Ribblesdale.  The  hostess  looking 
very  well  and  fascinating,  but  will  be  laid  up  for  some  time 
yet .  Dined  with  the  Scarbroughs ;  the  John  Buchans,  Lady 
Midleton,  Lady  Lugard,  and  the  Vicomte  de  la  Panouse. 
The  latter  uneasy,  especially  about  the  Amiens  and  Chalons 
railway  and  the  Paris  munition  factories.  He  had  trans- 
lated my  article  of  this  morning  for  the  French  G.Q.G. 
and  was  much  pleased  with  it.  He  had  not  much  news, 
and  I  criticised  the  breaking  up  of  our  Armies.  No  one  had 
any  explanation  to  offer  of  the  surprise  of  the  Chemin  des 
Dames.  Lady  Lugard  agrees  with  me  about  our  proper 
course  to  pursue  if  Paris  falls,  and  about  the  need  for  keeping 
a  stiff  upper  Up  and  not  allowing  the  Boches  to  blackmail 
us  about  France. 

Friday,  June  7.  Wrote  an  article  about  the  surprises  of 
March  21  and  May  27  and  their  causes  and  effects.  A  long 
Tribunal.  After  dinner  Lady  Massereene  and  Mrs.  Rigden 
came  up  to  Mary  on,  and  we  had  a  talk  over  matters.  They 
loved  the  house  and  the  pictures  and  the  quiet  of  the 
place. 

Saturday,  June  8,  to  Monday,  June  10.  Finished  an  article 
on  the  war  showing  that  Paris  and  the  Channel  ports  were 
objects  subordinate  to  our  principal  aim  of  righting  back 
with  the  French  and  waiting  for  the  American  reinforce- 
ments. Went  off  to  Polesden-Lacey  to  stay  with  Mrs.  Greville, 
and  arrived  in  time  for  lunch.  Met  Lord  Gainford  who  was 
Jack  Pease,  the  Liberal  Whip  and  Patronage  Secretary. 
Also  found  the  Spanish  Ambassador  and  Madame  Merry  del 
Val  and  Sir  Hedworth  Williamson,  a  Durham  baronet  who 
was  very  good  company.  Very  hot.  Played  some  hard 
single  sets  with  the  Ambassador.  Lady  Ridley  came 
later,    and    we    had   some    sets    with    her    and    Lord    G. 


1918]       THE  ADMIRALISSIMO  QUESTION         317 

Jack  Cowans  came  before  dinner,  also  Lady  Granard  and 
Sir  Lionel  Earle.  On  Sunday  some  golf  in  the  morning  on 
a  good  course,  the  greens  in  excellent  order.  Walked 
round  the  poultry  and  rabbit  farm  with  Mrs.  G.  in  the 
afternoon  :  many  hundreds  of  bunnies  and  thousands  of 
fowls.  Some  more  hard  single  sets  of  tennis  with  the 
Ambassador.  The  place  was  looking  very  lovely  in  divine 
summer  weather,  and  everything  inside  the  house  and  out 
was  remarkably  well  done  and  the  hostess  most  agreeable. 
Jack  drove  me  back  to  town  in  the  morning  of  Monday. 
He  is  not  very  happy  about  affairs  in  France.  He  seldom 
sees  Milner  owing  to  the  constant  journeys  of  the  latter  to 
France.  The  separation  of  our  troops,  which  are  now  much 
scattered  by  Foch,  leads  to  great  difficulties  in  supply. 
Some  of  our  badly  wounded  from  the  Aisne  were  sent  to  the 
south  of  France  and  then  back  to  England,  spending  seven 
days  in  the  train  ;  their  operations  were  performed  without 
chloroform,  and  there  were  no  nurses.  Our  four  divisions  at 
the  Aisne  are  now  only  one,  owing  to  their  heavy  losses. 
An  amusing  description  of  the  last  Naval  War  Council  in 
Paris.  After  much  discussion  it  had  been  agreed  that  the 
British  were  to  provide  the  Admiralissimo  for  the  Mediter- 
ranean. Our  people  then  went  home,  but  next  day  the  Italian 
sailors  forgathered  again  and  the  Italian  Admiral  claimed 
the  command.  He  said  that  he  was  senior  officer,  and  urged 
that  he  had  never  allowed  the  Italian  Fleet  to  leave  harbour, 
and  that  they  had  consequently  not  lost  a  ship  for  eighteen 
months  !  He  was  however  quite  ready  to  help  if  it  could  be 
done  without  risk !  The  American  General  Bliss,  on  being 
asked  what  had  happened,  replied  that  the  whole  meeting, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Italian  Admiral,  had  been  at  sea. 
We  are  anxious  about  the  railway  plant  stacked  near  Calais. 
There  are  rails  for  000  miles  of  roadway,  enough  to  get  to 
Berlin,  and  some  one  is  going  over  to  see  whether  he  can 
clear  the  decks.  It  is  said  that  we  have  six  positions 
entrenched,  and  thai  Rawly  responds  for  the  safety  of  the 
front  at  Amiens. 
The  Spanish  Ambassador  told  me  that  Spain  had  been  at 


3i8      THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

war  for  thirty-seven  years  during  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  that  the  whole  country  was  determined  to  maintain 
neutrality.  Turkey  alone  had  been  more  often  at  war 
during  the  last  century  than  Spain.  We  had  helped  them 
in  Morocco,  but  Tangier  was  a  great  blemish  and  a  centre 
for  anti-Spanish  intrigue.  He  sent  nearly  all  his  corre- 
spondence by  post,  and  thought  that  the  postal  service 
had  a  sort  of  European  patriotism  in  delivering  everything 
sent.  The  only  thing  that  he  had  to  complain  of  was 
that  the  Censorship  often  forgot  to  replace  enclosures  in 
a  letter  opened  by  them.  I  had  a  good  talk  with  Lady 
Ridley  about  politics,  and  found  her  views  as  sane  as 
ever.  Gainford  a  cool  level-headed  man.  He  is  just  now 
supervising  the  comb-out  of  Government  Departments.  He 
says  that  only  three  peers  were  made  while  he  was  Patronage 
Secretary,  and  all  three  for  real  services  rendered  to  the  State. 
How  much  we  have  changed  lately  !  He  also  told  me  that 
he  was  responsible  for  Bonar  Law  being  made  a  partner  in 
his  Glasgow  iron  firm.  Lionel  Earle  gave  us  a  full  account 
of  the  treatment  of  his  brother  Max  in  Germany.  It  is  a 
terrible  story.  He  also  told  us  about  his  Maternity  Estab- 
lishment during  dinner,  and  we  laughed  at  Hedworth 
Williamson's  jokes  about  it  till  we  nearly  cried. 

Monday,  June  10.  Fourth  Phase.  On  arriving  in  London 
I  heard  that  the  Boches  had  attacked  again  on  the  Montdi- 
dier-Noyon  front  and  had  advanced  five  miles  in  their  centre. 
They  started  their  bombardment  at  12  on  Saturday  night, 
and  the  infantry  attack  began  at  4.30  a.m.  Sunday.  Lord 
Midleton  came  up  to  Maryon  at  12.30,  and  we  had  a  talk  over 
his  motion  which  comes  on  in  the  Lords  on  the  19th.  He 
and  the  leading  men  in  the  Lords  not  in  the  Government 
were  desirous  of  seeing  Sir  W.  Robertson  restored  to  a  high 
position,  and  they  were  growing  very  anxious  about  the 
conduct  of  the  war.  We  had  a  good  talk  about  it  all.  He 
asked  me  in  what  position  R.  could  best  be  placed,  and  I 
said  as  C.I.G.S.,  but  I  doubted  whether  he  would  serve 
under  L.  G.  again.  M.  also  suggested  that  second-fine  troops 
should  hold  a  line  round  Paris,  but  I  did  not  favour  the  idea 


1918]  BED-ROCK  PRINCIPLES  319 

of  suggesting  military  operations.  Selborne  and  Salisbury 
are  among  his  supporters,  and  they  arc  going  to  haul  the 
War  Cabinet  over  the  coals.  I  told  M.  how  I  regarded  the 
whole  situation,  and  walked  with  him  to  the  Tube.  In  the 
afternoon  Mr.  Learoyd  came  up,  and  I  opened  to  him  the 
idea  of  Sir  Hubert  Gough  taking  up  the  job  which  the 
Philadelphia  Ledger  had  offered  me.  He  is  cabling  for  his 
people's  views. 

Wednesday,  June  12.  The  Bodies  have  won  all  the  hilly 
and  wooded  region  S.W.  of  Noyon,  and  are  now  attacking 
to  clear  the  Aisne  of  the  French.  Lunched  with  Mrs. 
Greville :  M.  de  Gre venkop  Castenskiold,  the  Danish  Minister, 
— who  told  me  that  he  had  read  all  my  articles,  poor  man — 
M.  Mouravieff  Apostol.  Mrs.  Bischoffsheim,  Colin  Agnew,  and 
a  few  more.  I  liked  Prince  Bibesco's  saying,  in  reply  to  the 
question  who  would  win  the  war :  '  The  Boches  have  tried 
their  utmost  to  win  it  for  four  years  and  have  not  succeeded, 
and  the  Allies  have  tried  their  hardest  to  lose  it  and  have 
similarly  failed.  Who  then  can  tell  who  will  win  ?  '  Wrote 
an  article  and  then  dined  with  Sir  Ernest  Cassel  at  Brook 
House,  to  find  the  Edwin  Montagus,  the  Maguires,  Sir  Alan 
Johnstone,  and  Lady  Bingham.  Sir  E.  C.  gave  us  some 
wonderful  old  hock,  very  strong,  and  we  had  kid  for  the 
roast,  very  good  and  tender.  Sir  Ernest  said  that  he 
was  constantly  citing  me,  and  that  I  had  been  right  all 
through  the  war. 

Thursday,  June  13.  I  had  an  article  yesterday  on  the 
battle,  and  another  to-day,  the  latter  pointing  out  that  four 
great  German  Armies  stood  on  the  British  front  still  unused, 
and  referring  t<>  the  bed-rock  principles  on  which  our  cam- 
paign of  1018  was,  or  should  be,  based,  namely,  keeping  our 
Armies  toi'ddcr  and  fighting  back  till  the  Americans  came 
in  great  strength.  I  gave  a  warning  about  the  Paris 
and  Channel  magnets  which  seem  to  me  to  be  diverting 
us  from  OUT  correct  strategy.  Lunched  with  the  London- 
derry^ :  Walter  Long,  Lady  Massereene  and  another  lady, 
and  Sutherland  the  P.M.'e  secretary.  L.  very  warn  about 
the  Government's  policy  in  Ireland    and  he  will  attack  it 


320    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

on  the  20th.  Lady  L.  keen  about  the  play  Loyalty,  which 
is  anti-pacificist.  I  told  her  that  Sutherland  would  square 
all  the  Government  Press  to  boom  the  play,  and  that  I  would 
do  my  best  for  the  independent  Press.  S.  laughingly  agreed. 
S.  told  me  that  it  was  Boche  small  parties  with  machine 
guns  getting  in  rear  of  French  positions  that  were  doing  the 
harm.  Walter  Long  remarked  that  Lord  French  was  a 
purely  military  Governor  of  Ireland.  French  is  now  at  the 
Vice-Regal  Lodge. 

Friday,  June  14.  Wrote  about  Unity  of  Command  and 
National  Armies.  Lunched  at  Wimborne  House,  and  con- 
gratulated the  Wimbornes  on  their  step  in  the  Peerage,  which 
is  well  deserved  as  they  have  both  striven  their  best  in  a  hope- 
less task.  Lady  Cunard,  Sir  Arthur  du  Cros  and  a  pleasant 
Frenchman,  Jean  du  Hamel,  who  is  attached  to  M.  Bignon, 
head  of  the  twenty-four  French  Committees  in  England.  We 
had  a  great  talk  on  the  war,  Wimborne,  du  Hamel,  and  I 
disputing  in  a  friendly  way.  Du  H.  interested  me  by  saying 
that  the  French  munition  works  in  Paris  had  been  dedouble, 
that  is  to  say  that  part  of  them  had  been  removed  elsewhere 
in  case  of  accidents.  He  agreed  with  me  in  my  case  about 
effectives,  believing  that  we  had  been  very  remiss.  He 
wants  part  of  the  English  Army  to  defend  the  Channel  ports 
if  we  have  to  retreat,  and  the  rest  to  go  back  with  the  French. 
I  admitted  that  it  was  a  question  whether  we  could  now  with- 
draw our  Armies  behind  the  Somme,  but  thought  that  if  we 
did  as  he  wished  we  should  be  first  invested  and  then  cap- 
tured in  the  north  while  the  French  were  beaten  elsewhere. 
Wimborne  thought  peace  necessary  for  France,  but  du  H. 
and  I  opposed  this  warmly,  and  finally  we  all  agreed  that  there 
was  nothing  for  it  but  to  fight  it  out.  Du  H.  said  that  he  had 
read  all  my  articles  and  that  my  views  were  well  known  and 
highly  appreciated  throughout  France.  Curzon  reported  to 
be  very  despondent  about  affairs,  and  a  Staff  Officer  from 
G.H.Q.  has  also  brought  black  news  to  London.  Happily 
there  is  still  Clemenceau  in  charge. 

A  letter  from  Lord  X.  to-day  attempting  to  place  on  Mac- 
ready  the  responsibility  for  our  lack  of  reserves  !     As  if  the 


1918]  A  SINN  FEIN  RAID  321 

poor   A.G.    had    not    been   literally  howling   for    men    for 
eighteen  months  ! 

Saturday  and  Sunday,  June  15  and  16.  Wrote  an  article 
on  the  new  German  art  of  war.  After  lunch  motored  down 
to  the  Abbey  House,  Colchester,  with  Mrs.  Grevillo  and  her 
maid,  to  stay  with  Sir  Cecil  and  Lady  Bingham.  We  stopped 
at  a  town  and  had  tea  on  the  road.  Cis  commands  a  mobile 
division  and  this  sector  of  the  coast.  A  pleasant  house  with 
a  good  tennis  lawn  and  the  officers'  club  in  adjoining  ground. 
An  old  Henry  vn.  tower  the  only  visible  remains  of  the 
Abbey.  I  discovered  that  King  Cole  really  lived,  and  that 
his  bones  rest  here.  General  Pritchard  and  Miss  Chauncey 
also  at  dinner.  On  Sunday,  Cis  and  I  motored  round  the 
defences.  He  is  building  pill-boxes  at  various  points.  He 
is  no  more  enamoured  of  beach  defence  as  a  panacea  than 
I  am,  and  is  organising  defence  in  depth  with  General  Snow's 
approval.  Robertson  appears  to  concur.  A  great  shortage 
of  men  as  usual.  The  beach  defence  fairly  good  otherwise. 
We  motored  through  Walton  on  the  Naze,  Clacton,  and 
Frinton.  In  this  sector  an  invader  must  come  inside  the 
Gunfleet  sands,  and  will  be  exposed  to  the  heavy  guns  at 
Harwich.  I  found  that  the  Army  and  Navy  liaison  had  still 
made  no  progress.  Frinton  an  attractive  little  seaside 
town  with  fine  sands.  We  met  the  Duchess  of  Abercorn, 
who  told  us  of  the  Sinn  Fein  raid  on  Baronscourt  the  other 
day.  Ten  motor  cars  full  of  masked  men  came.  They  found 
no  arms,  but  stole  sixteen  bottles  of  whisky  and  some  brandy 
and  port.  The  maids  still  suffering  from  nerves  in  conse- 
quence. I  find  that  two  expeditions  are  starting :  one  for 
Archangel  and  the  other  for  Vladivostok,  to  help  Russians 
and  take  off  200,000  Czecho-Slavs.  A  wild-cat  scheme  as 
usual,  and  reprehensible  when  we  need  every  man  in  France 
and  every  ship  to  bring  over  American  troops.  All  the  B  2 
men  are  being  taken  away  to  Aldershot  to  form  three  divi- 
sions  with  cadres  from  France,  and  are  then  to  be  Bent  to 
Alsace.  Foch  said  to  refuse  to  go  on  unless  this  is  done,  hut  I 
do  not  eredit  il .  The  Boche,  if  he  got  to  Kngland  now  .  would 
have  an  <  a-\  lime  of  it.     Jn  the  afternoon  we  played  tennis. 


322    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

Lords  Althorp  and  Gage  came,  and  Lady  Eileen  Clarke, 
Lady  Ranfurly's  daughter,  with  Miss  Clarke,  Coventry  and 
his  wife,  all  nice  people.     A  very  enjoyable  visit. 

Monday,  June  17.  Motored  back  to  town  with  Mrs. 
Greville  again,  and  we  had  long  talks  about  people  and  things. 

Tuesday,  June  18.  On  Sunday  the  long-awaited  Austrian 
offensive  against  Italy  began  at  dawn.  The  enemy  attacked 
on  a  broad  front  from  the  Astico  to  the  Piave  in  the  mountain 
zone,  and  all  along  the  Piave  front  in  the  plains.  The 
Austrians  have  60  divisions  engaged  and  7500  guns  it  is  said. 
Our  three  divisions  under  Cavan  were  fighting  in  the  Astico 
sector  and  did  well.  The  Austrians  crossed  the  Piave  on 
the  Montello  and  lower  down,  but  on  the  whole  are  held.  I 
came  up  to  town  in  the  morning.  Bonar  Law  and  Asquith 
spoke  on  the  war  in  the  House  of  Commons  to-day. 

Wednesday,  June  19.  Wrote  on  this  Austrian  attack. 
In  the  evening  dined  with  Mrs.  Greville  ;  Lord  Crewe,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Asquith,  Sir  Lionel  Earle,  Lord  Richard  and  Lady 
Moyra  Cavendish,  Mrs.  Cavendish  Bentinck,  and  Sir  R. 
Graham.  A  good  dinner,  and  talk  afterwards.  Asquith 
thought  that  Bonar  had  been  ineffective  yesterday.  A. 
thought  the  position  very  grave.  Some  candid  criticism 
of  the  War  Cabinet  yesterday,  and  the  H.  of  C.  appear  to  be 
waking  up.  It  is  about  time.  Asquith  asked  me  for  my 
views  about  the  war,  and  I  gave  them  after  dinner.  Mrs. 
Asquith  spoke  freely  about  politics. 

Thursday,  June  20.  Wrote  again  on  the  war.  Lunched 
at  the  Ritz  where  200  people  had  been  turned  away  for 
want  of  room.  Went  to  see  Charhe  Hawtrey  in  the  Naughty 
Wife,  and  had  a  real  good  laugh  at  this  capital  comedy. 
Charlie  as  inimitable  as  usual.   Gladys  Cooper  played  the  wife. 

Friday,  June  21.  Wrote  on  '  Cabinet  and  War,'  and 
commented  on  Curzon's  speech  in  the  Lords  on  the  18th. 
In  the  afternoon  went  to  the  Academy  with  Marjorie.  We 
only  cared  for  two  or  three  pictures,  the  best  portraits  being 
by  J.  J.  Shannon  and  Hacker.  An  interior  or  two  and  a 
fine  grey  and  black  snow  scene  by  Farquharson  also 
attracted  us.     We  met  George  and  Derek  Keppel.     Saw 


1918]  A  TALK  ABOUT  THE  LAND  323 

the  sarcophagus  for  Lord  Ingcstrc.  The  recumbent  figure 
is  gilt.  The  Manners  sarcophagus  in  bronze  is  fine  and 
more  simple. 

Saturday,  June  22.  Down  to  Hallingbury  for  the  week- 
end. Motoring  from  the  station  to  the  house  we  were  run 
into  by  a  lorry  coming  fast  off  a  bridge  where  we  could  not 
see  it.  Both  cars  going  a  fair  pace.  A  bad  smash,  both 
ears  hors  de  conduit.  A  man  on  the  lorry  broke  his  arm.  A 
pleasant  quiet  time  with  Mrs.  Lockett  Agnew,  her  sister 
Mrs.  Fielding,  and  Colin.  We  were  all  very  happy  in  fine 
weather  and  the  place  looking  lovely.  I  missed  poor  old 
Lockett  every  moment.  On  Sunday,  Mr.  Stacey,  a  yeoman 
farmer  who  farms  800  acres,  came  over  and  we  had  a  talk 
about  the  land.  He  says  that  it  will  take  three  years  to 
clean  it  up  after  the  war,  as  want  of  labour  has  been  so  serious. 
Much  land  has  been  ploughed  by  order,  with  the  result  that 
the  grass  has  been  lost  and  only  winter  oats  can  now  be  Bown. 
The  price  for  mutton  does  not  pay,  and  he  says  that  there 
will  be  no  sheep  soon.  He  has  Boche  prisoners  working 
for  him.  They  are  getting  slack.  They  seem  badly  fed  with 
6  oz.  of  bread  per  man,  8  oz.  of  coffee  without  milk  or  sugar 
amongst  twenty,  and  2  lb.  of  Chinese  pork  amongst  twenty 
per  day. 

Monday,  June  24.  Returned  to  town.  The  Austrians 
began  to  retire  from  the  Piave  on  Saturday  night,  and  the 
whole  attack  of  the  combined  forces  of  Austria  has  failed. 
A  happy  affair.  Nothing  fresh  in  the  West,  but  much  news 
of  Boche  troops  piling  up  for  the  grand  finale. 

Tuesday,  June  25.  Still  no  news.  In  the  evening  went 
to  the  Palace  with  Lady  Paget,  the  Grand  Duchess  George, 
of  1  lie  Princesses,  and  Wolkoff,  to  see  'Hearts  of  the 
World,'  a  wonderful  cinema  show  but  very  harrowing. 
Wrni  on  to  Iho  Post  later  and  saw  Gwynne,  who  wants  me 
to  put  my  ideas  on  paper  for  the  Dominion  Prime  Ministers. 

Wednesday,  June  20.  Lunched  with  the  Ian  llamiltons  ; 
.Mrs.    Ronnv   Brooke,  the  Wanes,    Max    Becrbohms,   Lady 

Randolph,  ;in<l  sonic  more,  [n  fche  afternoon  had  tea  with 
Maii'l  P.  and  then  Bal  in  the  park  for  the  first  time  since 


324    THE  GEKMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

the  war  began,  and  saw  various  people.  Called  to  ask  after 
Lady  Beresford  with  Eddy  Wortley,  and  was  glad  to  hear 
that  she  was  well  over  her  operation. 

Thursday,  June  27.  Still  reading  up  my  diaries  of  1917 
to  do  Gwynne's  memorandum.     Tribunal  later. 

Tuesday,  July  2.  Dined  with  the  Ernest  Cunards  in 
Portman  Square :  Lady  Sarah,  Jack  Cowans,  Mrs.  Astor, 
George  and  Mrs.  Keppel,  Sir  Lionel  Earle,  Mrs.  Greville, 
Mr.  Cravath,  Mrs.  Grosvenor,  and  Miss  Kerr-Clark.  A 
pleasant  dinner.  Earle  tells  me  that  the  explosion 
reported  to-day  in  the  Midlands  was  at  Chilworth,  near 
Nottingham,  and  that  the  plan  of  the  place  had  been 
forced  through  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  Board  of 
Works,  when  L.  G.  was  at  the  Munitions  Ministry.  Had 
the  main  store  of  6-in.  shells  gone  up  too,  Nottingham 
would  have  been  devastated.  Cravath  tells  me  that  300,000 
more  Americans  will  come  over  this  month.  There  are  over 
1,000,000  already  in  France,  a  wonderful  performance.  I 
saw  Colonel  Slocum  at  the  American  Embassy  yesterday,  and 
he  told  me  that  100,000  Americans  were  now  doubled  up  with 
our  Army,  and  that  there  are  thirteen  American  divisions 
now  in  France  besides.  All  are  now  going  into  the  line  as 
they  arrive.  We  have  news  from  France  of  various  minor 
successes  by  all  the  Allies,  but  nothing  on  a  very  large  scale. 
Another  hospital  ship,  the  Llandovery  Castle,  torpedoed  in 
the  Atlantic  in  circumstances  of  peculiar  barbarity.  Cunard 
tells  me  that  his  line  has  suffered  much  lately,  and  most  of 
the  loss  has  fallen  on  his  new  ships. 

Wednesday,  July  3.  I  have  an  article  on  the  war  in  the 
Post  to-day,  and  this  morning  wrote  an  appreciation  of  the 
Americans  for  their  big  day  to-morrow.  Lunched  with  the 
Edwin  Montagus.  He  tells  me  that  the  natives  of  India  are 
terrified  at  the  idea  of  Japanese  aggression,  and  that  when  any- 
thing happens  on  the  frontier  Japanese  barbers  and  hawkers 
turn  up  and  watch  what  is  going  on .  Montagu  exercised  about 
Army  affairs  in  India,  and  we  discussed  the  present  needs 
and  future  organisation.  We  agreed  that  in  certain  eventu- 
alities the  East  might  become  an  important  war  theatre 


1918]  INDIA  AND  THE  WAR  325 

in  the  latter  part  of  1919,  i.e.  provided  that  we  held  firm  in 
France  and  that  the  war  went  on.  We  therefore  both  thought 
it  wise  that  Monro  should  raise  seven  fresh  divisions.  India 
hopes  to  find  500,000  more  men  this  year,  but  400,000  are 
needed  for  drafts  and  the  other  100,000  can  only  supply  seven 
divisions.  Where  should  they  be  used  ?  I  thought  that 
it  did  not  matter  so  long  as  they  were  available,  for  events 
would  decide  their  destination . x  We  also  were  in  agreement,  as 
before,  that  India  should  control  the  Eastern  operations,  since 
India  was  the  main  source  of  the  supply  of  troops,  and  our 
people  here  were  too  busy  to  keep  touch  with  the  East,  but 
M.  feared  that  the  W.O.  wished  to  have  India  as  much  under 
them  as  Gibraltar  was,  and  to  have  the  power  of  the  higher 
appointments. 

I  said  that  I  did  not  fear  Japan  since  she  was  insular 
and  could  not  withstand  the  maritime  pressure  of  the 
Allies  :  also  that  I  thought  her  loyal  to  her  engagements. 
It  was  only  if  Japan  and  Germany  coalesced  that  we 
should  have  trouble,  but  I  thought  that  Japan,  though 
very  ambitious,  would  not  kick  over  the  traces  and  risk  her 
destinies.  M.  asked  me  about  a  Territorial  force  for  India 
and  I  was  against  it,  unless  Germany  tried  to  invade  India. 
She  would  do  so,  I  thought,  under  the  flag  of  Mohammedism. 
But  for  every  division  she  sent  from  the  West  we  could  send 
another  and  more  quickly,  so  that  I  was  not  much  afraid 
of  it,  though  M.  told  me  of  two  Boche  divisions  on  the  way 
to  Persia  via  Tiflis,  and  said  that  India  would  be  more 
alarmed  about  it  when  this  week's  cables  reached  her  than 
she  was  before.  I  thought  that  this  Persian  scheme  was 
to  harass  us,  and  that  our  main  interest  was  the  defence 
of  the  Suez  Canal  and  Egypt.  But  I  thought  that  we 
should  keep  a  good  reserve  in  India,  that  Monro  should 
be  given  a  free  hand,  and  that  if  India  were  given 
control  of  the  Eastern  operations  she  could  apportion  hei 
troops  to  theatres  of  most  consequence  to  her.  M.  will 
Blipport  this  point  of  view.      Ho  again  told  me  how  much  ho 

1  In  1918  India  bad  bo  employ  840*000  men  in  Trail  [ndw 
operations. 


326    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

appreciated  Monro.  I  was  for  the  Lawrence  plan  with  the 
Indian  Army,  i.e.  making  it  contented  and  safe,  and  M. 
admitted  that  we  had  to  buy  the  men  we  raised.  His  Indian 
scheme  is  to  be  published  on  Friday,  and  he  expects  the 
Morning  Post  to  slate  him. 

Dined  with  Lady  Sarah  Wilson  at  her  new  house  30  Great 
Cumberland  Place.  A  nice  house  and  attractive,  but  without 
the  boiserie  which  was  such  a  feature  of  21  Hertford  Street. 
The  Winston  Churchills,  the  Duchess  of  Westminster,  Sir 
Godfrey  Paine — a  plain-speaking  officer  of  the  R.A.F., 
formerly  one  of  the  Sea  Lords  and  now  a  General — the 
Duke  of  Marlborough,  Mrs.  Cavendish  Bentinck,  Mrs.  Tom 
Bridges,  Lady  Sarah's  boy,  and  two  officers  of  the  R.A.F. 
The  Winstons  late,  and  could  not  get  in  as  we  were  at 
dinner.  They  saw  us  through  the  window  as  the  folding 
doors  were  open,  and  Winston  said  that  this  punishment 
for  being  late  was  well  planned  and  well  deserved.  Tom 
Bridges  is  on  his  way  home,  and  evidently  hopes  to  get 
to  France  again.  He  writes  most  favourably  of  Lord 
and  Lady  Reading.  We  had  some  talk  of  Independence 
Day  to-morrow,  and  I  took  the  line,  as  I  have  done  in 
the  Morning  Post,  that  I  did  not  see  why  I  should 
commemorate  the  day  except  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  but 
that  to  commemorate  America's  action  now  I  was  prepared 
to  go  about  covered  with  American  flags.  Winston  does 
not  agree.  He  is  to  speak  on  Independence  Day  to-morrow. 
The  Winstons  have  sold  33  Eccleston  Square  to  the  Labour 
Party,  and  they  are  living  at  their  new  country  house. 
After  dinner  the  younger  Air  Force  officers  from  the  Navy, 
or  rather  one  of  them  in  particular,  complained  a  good  deal  of 
being  'soldierised,'  and  Paine  fell  upon  him  and  slated  him 
finely.  Paine  in  the  new  light-blue  Air  Force  uniform,  some- 
thing between  the  French  and  Italian  colour  and  quite  smart. 
He  was  very  severe,  and  Winston  admitted  that  Paine 
when  at  the  Admiralty  terrified  him.  He  is  a  plain- 
spoken  man,  and  lets  drive  straight  from  the  shoulder. 
He  told  me  that  the  Boches  were  getting  short  of  machines 
and   that   the   Boche    squadrons    had    only    six    to   eight 


1918]      THE  FIRST  MILLION  AMERICANS        327 

aeroplanes  each  now,  and  that  it  was  a  good  symptom. 
An  agreeable  evening,  but  all  rather  despondent  about 
the  new  fuel  and  light  regulations  which  threaten  a  bad 
winter  for  us  all.  The  Duchess  of  W.  interesting  upon 
the  subject  of  the  Boche  raids  on  our  hospitals  in  France, 
and  upon  our  concealment  of  our  losses  by  them.  The 
bombs  fell  ver}T  near  her  hospital.  She  has  no  car,  and  went 
home  by  bus.  Mrs.  C.  B.  went  home  in  a  pill-box  drawn 
by  a  sorry  grey  Rosinante.     The  mighty  are  much  fallen. 

Thursday,  July  4.  My  article  on  the  Americans  appears. 
London  much  beflagged  with  the  star-spangled  banner,  and 
various  speeches  and  demonstrations  of  friendship,  especi- 
ally a  great  base-ball  match  at  Stamford  Bridge,  attended 
by  the  King.  Last  night  there  came  out  from  Washington 
■  table  showing  the  number  of  troops  sent  over  the  water 
by  the  U.S.  since  May  1917.  It  amounts  to  over  1,000,000 
men,  and  the  figure  for  June  is  274,000,  a  wonderful  perform- 
ance. Lunched  with  Lady  Massereene,  and  met  Lady  Curzon 
and  Lady  Idina  Wallace,  Mrs.  Rigden,  Mr.  McVicker,  and 
Maxwell.  Lady  C.  in  a  fury  because  a  certain  person 
here  has  offended  her.  Lady  C.  wants  his  blood,  and  I 
do  not  wonder.  A  great  talk  about  Independence  Day 
and  kindred  matters. 

Friday,  July  5.  We  celebrated  July  4  yesterday  by  an 
Australian-American  capture  of  Hamel  and  Vaire  Wood, 
south  of  the  Somme,  while  the  French  took  ground  north 
of  the  Aisne.  Total  bag  of  some  2000  Boches  in  the  two 
encounters.  Allenby  writes  to  me  much  amused  about  the 
many  reports  of  his  supposed  visit  to  England,  and  hopes 
thai  In  double  behaved  decently  and  kept  up  his  good 
character  !  He  says  that  the  Boche  is  giving  a  lot  of  trouble 
in  the  West,  but  appears  to  be  held  now,  and  he  trusts  that 
the  Americans  will  soon  be  pulling  their  weight.  He  says 
that  things  arc  fairly  quiet  in  Palestine.      He  is  persecuting 

mosquito  -  and  trying  to  extirpate  malaria  from  the  Jordan 
\';ili.\  and  the  marshes  on  the  sea  coast.  He  says  that  his 
men  can  stand  the  heat  if  they  can  down  the  fever. 

Lunched    with    Mrs.    Cavendish    Bentinck    in    Richmond 


328    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

Terrace,  and  found  Frank  Curzon,  the  Duchess  of  Rutland, 
and  another  lady.  Lady  Diana  laid  up  with  the  'flu,  and 
very  miserable.  Mrs.  C.  B.  still  keeps  her  house,  and  is  going 
to  shelter  twelve  American  nurses  on  passage  and  so  stave 
off  eviction.  She  goes  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Burns,  to  the 
Granards  in  Ireland  at  the  end  of  the  month.  Much  talk 
of  artists  and  sculptors,  and  F.  C.  wants  me  to  look  at  the 
Lower  Chapel  at  Eton  and  suggest  how  to  fill  in  the  space 
over  the  names  of  Etonians  in  the  Memorial.  The  Duchess 
thinks  that  Shannon  has  never  painted  better  than  this  year. 
He  has  recovered  from  paralysis ,  thanks  to  some  new  discovery 
of  science,  but  is  still  unable  to  get  about  much.  She  advises 
us  to  go  to  the  schools  to  find  a  young  artist  who  may  achieve 
fame  and  will  paint  a  portrait  without  charging  £500 
for  it.  The  Duke  has  his  Garter :  only  the  King  at  the 
function.  Every  one  thinks  that  the  fuel  and  light 
orders  must  be  modified  as  no  one  can  keep  to  them.  The 
gas  we  use  in  a  month  has  now  to  last  us  a  year,  and 
electricity  and  coal  nearly  as  bad.  Many  people  stacking 
wood  against  next  winter's  terrors.  Lord  Rhondda  dead. 
Also  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  a  nonentity.  A  talk  with 
Gywnne  and  Colvin  at  the  Morning  Post  office.  Hughes 
and  Borden  have  told  G.  that  if  there  are  negotiations  in 
progress  they  have  not  been  informed.  Montagu's  Indian 
Reforms  out.     Colvin  thinks  him  a  Bolshevist. 

The  following  is  the  text  of  my  memorandum  written  for 
Gwynne  for  the  Dominion  Premiers  : 

Dominion  Premiers  and  the  Conduct  of  the  War 

Editor, — You  have  asked  me  for  my  views  upon  the  services 
which  the  Dominion  Premiers,  now  in  London,  can  render  towards 
the  more  vigorous  and  intelligent  conduct  of  the  war. 

The  services  which  they  can  render  would  be  invaluable  pro- 
vided that  they  were  accurately  informed  of  the  real  situation, 
and,  secondly,  that  they  were  in  agreement  concerning  the  re- 
forms in  the  higher  direction  of  the  war  which  they  proposed  to 
urge  upon  our  War  Cabinet. 

The  cardinal  fault  of  the  War  Cabinet  during  the  last  eighteen 


1918]      NOTE  FOR  DOMINION  PREMIERS        329 

months  has  been  to  misconceive  the  military  situation,  and  to 
refuse  to  carry  out  the  recommendations  of  their  military  ad- 
viser-;. As  I  do  not  know  how  much  the  Premiers  have  been  told 
I  will  mention  a  few  of  the  leading  facts. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1916  the  Germans  increased  their  field 
strengths  by  700,000  men,  and  we  made  no  additions  to  ours. 
In  November  1910  the  Germans  had  200  field  divisions,  of  which 
126  were  in  the  West.  By  February  1917  the  56  new  German 
divisions  were  ready.  German}'  at  that  date  had  256  divisions, 
of  which  137  were  in  the  West.  They  had  157  divisions  in  the 
West  by  April  1917,  and  the  figure  fell  to  147  in  September. 
Directly  the  Russian  situation  was  cleared  up  the  German  move- 
ment westwards  from  the  Russian  front  began.  The  Germans 
sent  West  between  September  and  November  1917  six  divisions 
on  balance,  and  100,000  drafts,  making  up  about  200,000  men. 
By  January  1918  there  were  again  157  German  divisions  in  the 
West,  and  others  were  arriving  from  the  East  at  the  rate  of  eight 
to  twelve  per  month.  There  were  165  German  divisions  in  the 
West  by  January  18, 177  by  February,  184  by  March  7,  and  about 
193  when  they  attacked  on  March  21.  By  May  there  were  205 
divisions,  and  the  figure  may  grow  to  220.  There  was  no  excuse 
for  ignorance  of  these  facts.  The  probability  of  the  movements 
was  patent.  The  French  Headcpiarters  informed  me  last  October 
that  sixty  more  German  divisions  might  come  across  from  the 
Russian  front,  and  that  we  might  be  faced  by  an  aggregate  of 
3,000,000  Germans  in  the  West,  with  1,500,000  more  in  the  depots 
and  on  the  lines  of  communication.  There  was  no  question 
of  surprise.  All  these  changes  were  known  to  our  Intelligence 
Service  at  the  dates  which  I  have  mentioned,  and  were  duly 
reported  to  the  War  Cabinet.  These  changes  did  not  prompt 
the  War  Cabinet  to  take  any  countervailing  action. 

The  French  were  played  out,  and  General  Petain  informed  me 
last  October  that  he  would  automatically  lose  ten  divisions  by 
March  1918,  owing  to  lack  of  men,  and,  in  fact,  he  did  so.  The 
Italians  wen-  licking  their  wounds  and  reorganising.  In  Russia 
ohaofl  wae  becoming  more  chaotic.  Our  Portuguese  divisions 
were  not  kepi  op,  and  the  Belgians  had  hut  few  reserves.      IVtain 

felt  and  told  me  that  the  American  arrivals  up  to  March  1918 

would  not  do  more  than  make  up  for  his  own  automatic  losses, 
and  so  it  turned  out.  It  devolved  upon  England,  last  October 
at  la1»  i  out  her  reserves  o£  Strength  in  order  to  hold  the 


330    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

pass  until  the  Americans  came  in  strength.  It  is  because  our 
War  Cabinet  failed  to  do  so  that  all  our  disappointments  have 
occurred. 

Mr.  Lloyd  George,  who  was  the  War  Cabinet,  never  made  the 
situation  clear  to  our  public,  and  steadily  refused,  until  after  the 
defeat  of  March  21  of  this  year,  to  face  the  music  of  facts.  In 
spite  of  the  persistent  warnings  of  Sir  William  Robertson,  he 
refused  to  ask  the  country  for  the  necessary  men,  and  his  speeches 
were  mainly  devoted  to  the  creation  of  an  atmosphere  favourable 
to  himself  in  the  House  of  Commons.  He  and  his  War  Cabinet 
had  become  convinced  by  the  exercise  of  their  imagination  that 
there  was  a  stalemate  in  the  West.  He  hated  losses,  stated  on 
many  occasions,  and  even  at  Versailles,  that  we  were  over-insured 
in  the  West,  and  allowed  himself  to  be  beguiled  by  his  own  in- 
clinations and  the  advice  of  amateurs  and  visionaries  into  the 
pursuit  of  peace  by  '  knocking  out  the  Turk.'  We  had  1,300,000 
men  drawing  rations  in  our  Eastern  theatres  of  war  when  the 
Germans  attacked  us  on  March  21.  Dispersion  of  force  and 
failure  to  develop  strength  in  the  principal  theatre  have  been  the 
twin  causes  of  our  defeats. 

In  January  1917  we  had  4,000,000  men  of  military  age,  up  to 
forty -one,  in  civil  occupations,  but  the  Prime  Minister  would  not 
call  upon  them,  and  when  the  campaign  of  that  year  began  we 
had  only  400,000  drafting  troops  at  home,  including  250,000  in- 
fantry, of  whom  180,000  were  either  untrained  or  boys  of  eighteen 
to  nineteen.  In  March  1917  we  had  an  aggregate  of  5,000,000 
men,  including  Dominion  troops  and  Labour,  in  our  Armies,  but 
only  2,000,000  aggregate  in  France,  and  of  these  only  1,000,000 
fighting  troops.  I  personally  informed  the  Prime  Minister  of 
the  real  situation  in  March  1917,  and  gave  him  the  strongest 
warning.  He  did  nothing.  Haig's  figures  showed  deficits  all 
through  the  year,  and  at  the  end  of  it  he  was  116,000  men  down 
in  infantry  alone.  He  fought  the  campaign  of  1917  with  half 
the  number  of  divisions  which  opposed  him.  His  troops  could 
not  be  properly  trained  or  rested  owing  to  want  of  drafts  and  spare 
divisions.  When  drafts  came  they  were  always  late,  and,  being 
untrained,  suffered  excessive  losses  on  many  occasions.  Owing 
to  the  physical  exhaustion  of  our  troops  the  number  of  wounded 
able  to  return  to  France  fell  from  60  to  40  per  cent.  Owing  to 
the  dangerous  situation  of  our  Armies  I  left  the  Times  in  January 
1918.     The  Times  would  not  support  my  views.  .  .  . 


1918]      NOTE  FOR  DOMINION  PREMIERS        331 

On  January  1,  1918,  despite  the  German  increases  and  transfers 
to  the  West,  we  were  100,000  righting  men  below  our  iigure  of 
January  1,  1917.  The  Premiers  can  ask  the  Adjutant-General 
for  the  figures  if  they  doubt  mine.  There  were  so  few  drafts  that 
the  War  Cabinet  had  secretly  to  reduce  our  divisions  from  twelve 
to  nine  battalions,  the  battalions  reduced  being  used  as  drafts, 
while  four  home-defence  divisions  were  similarly  used.  Our  line 
in  France  was  unduly  extended,  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  Haig, 
and  it  was  at  the  moment  when  all  these  weakening  causes  were 
in  fullest  operation  that  the  German  attack  came  on  March  21. 
The  defeat  at  St.  Qucntin  was  the  natural  consequence.  Two 
French  Armies  had  to  take  over  the  front  of  our  5th  Army,  and 
bom  the  French  reserves  some  fifteen  more  divisions  had  to 
strengthen  our  line  in  the  north.  Foch  became  Commander-in- 
Chief  at  the  end  of  March,  but  the  necessity  for  bolstering  up  our 
Armies  had  caused  him  to  be  weak  elsewhere,  and  his  defeat  on 
the  Aisne  was  the  next  consequence.  The  whole  story  is  of  one 
piece  since  Mr.  Lloyd  George  became  Prime  Minister,  and  effect 
has  followed  cause  in  logical  sequence. 

Though  it  is,  of  course,  true  that  Russia's  collapse  was  the 
primary  cause  of  our  defeats,  this  collapse  was  patent  at  latest 
by  July  1917,  when  the  Russian  Southern  Armies  refused  to  fight 
any  more.  The  terrible  fault  of  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  his  War 
Cabinet  was  not  to  prepare  in  any  way  for  the  inevitable  conse- 
quences. Even  so  late  as  February  1918,  at  the  Versailles  War 
Council,  in  reply  to  energetic  French  remonstrances,  he  declared 
that  there  would  be  a  social  revolution  if  he  asked  England  for 
more  men,  and  the  French  told  me  that  they  could  not  prolong 
thedi.-< ruse ion  without  breaking  up  the  Council.  When  the  defeat 
of  March  compelled  the  Prime  Minister  to  do  his  duty  there  was 
no  social  revolution,  nor  even  a  whimper.  The  saying  that  people 
have  the  Government  that  they  deserve  has  not  been  true  of  our 
people  in  1914  18.  The  people  have  been  splendid  all  through. 
It  i-  not  possible  for  a  War  Cabinet  to  succeed  when  neither  the 
Fii-i    l.oid  nor  the  Secretaries  for  War  and    Foreign  Affairs  are 

members  of  it,  and  I  hope  thai  the  Dominion  Premiers  may  alter 
this  state  of  affairs. 

The Germanf  claim  (Wireless  of  June  20)  to  have  taken  212,000 
prisonen  2800  gone,  and  soon  machine-guns  unce  Maroh  21. 
i'li<  j  claim  to  have  gained  2460  square  miles  of  ground.    These 

G   j  man  gain-    added  to  our  dc.'uJ  and   wounded,  represent   the 
VOL.  II.  Z 


332    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

results  of  bad  policy  deliberately  pursued  for  eighteen  months 
in  face  of  the  strongest  military  advice.  Our  people  are  not 
allowed  to  read  the  German  Wireless.  It  is  considered  too  strong 
meat  for  their  weak  digestions. 

The  result  of  the  fighting  from  March  21  to  the  end  of  May 
was  to  place  hors  de  combat  at  least  ten  British  divisions.  How 
many  of  these  have  been  reconstituted  I  am  not  sure,  but  the 
Premiers  can  inquire.  Some  100,000  Americans  have  been 
incorporated  in  our  Armies  in  France  to  make  up  for  the  gross 
neglect  of  the  War  Cabinet  to  maintain  them  and  to  look  ahead.  It 
was  a  noble  act  of  America  to  come  to  our  aid  in  this  manner,  but 
the  incorporation  of  American  citizens  in  our  ranks  presents 
dangers.  The  Americans  want  their  men  back,  and  I  hope  that 
the  Premiers  will  expedite  arrangements  to  replace  them.  Where 
should  we  be  now  were  not  the  Americans  five  months  ahead  of 
their  programme  ?  I  believe  that  Haig  was  210,000  men  down 
about  three  weeks  ago,  and  I  hope  that  the  Premiers  will 
look  carefully  into  figures  and  compare  those  put  forward  by  the 
War  Cabinet,  the  A.G.,  and  G.H.Q.  respectively.  They  often 
differ  materially,  and  the  Premiers  should  ask  for  the  figures  of 
British  fighting  troops  only. 

I  hope  that  our  new  Service  Act,  though  it  came  nine  months 
too  late,  combined  with  the  remarkable  arrivals  of  American 
troops  and  the  hasty  withdrawal  of  64  of  our  battalions  from 
distant  theatres  of  war,  may  enable  us  to  win  the  great  battle 
daily  awaited,  but  I  cannot  trust  a  War  Cabinet  which  has  so 
conspicuously  failed  the  country.  As  it  has  similarly  failed  the 
Dominions,  I  submit  that  the  Dominion  Premiers  should  unitedly 
demand  that  they  may  be  represented  in  the  War  Cabinet  till  the 
end  of  the  war,  and  that  their  representatives  should  be  strong 
and  independent  men,  not  susceptible  to  any  influences  or 
blandishments  such  as  those  which  have  prevented  the  greater 
part  of  our  Press,  and  the  House  of  Commons,  from  doing  their 
duty  towards  the  county  during  the  last  eighteen  months. 

The  Dominion  representatives  should  attend  the  Allied  Navy 
Council,  whose  acts  greatly  concern  them,  and  should  have  full 
access  to  the  records  of  the  Admiralty  and  the  War  Office,  and  of 
G.H.Q.  in  France.  Our  difficulty  throughout  this  war  has  been 
to  get  the  truth  made  known,  and  the  necessary  action  taken. 
Soldiers  and  sailors  have  to  incline  to  any  policy  dictated  by  the 
Cabinet.     Their  mouths  are  sealed,  but  Dominion  representatives 


1918]      NOTE  FOR  DOMINION  PREMIERS        333 

in  the  War  Cabinet  would  be  free  to  speak  on  matters  of  policy. 
The}'  would  have  the  good  of  the  Empire  as  their  guiding  star,  and 
that  alone. 

I  am  anxious  about  the  direction  of  military  operations.  We 
have  lost  at  home  our  best  strategist  and  a  man  universally 
trusted  by  the  Army  and  our  Allies.  ...  In  France  we  have 
accepted  a  French  Commander-in-Chief.  Few  people  understand 
that  the  French  desire  is  to  break  up  our  national  Armies  and 
assume  entire  control  of  them.  The  political,  military,  and 
administrative  dangers  of  such  measures,  which  have  already 
gone  much  too  far,  are,  in  my  opinion,  very  great,  and  will 
become  greater  if  things  go  wrong  in  battle. 

The  Allied  War  Council,  instead  of  being  an  organ  for  the 
general  direction  of  Allied  policy  in  a  world-war,  has  become  an 
instrument  for  the  direction  of  military  operations.  It  has  mis- 
taken its  role.  It  should  hold  its  meetings  in  London,  and  not 
in  a  capital  under  fire  and  liable  to  capture  by  the  enemy.  Who 
regulates  the  campaigns  of  Salonika,  Palestine,  Mesopotamia  ? 
No  one  knows.  If  the  war  continues  and  we  hold  our  own  in 
France,  operations  may  extend  once  more  to  Russia  and  other 
Eastern  theatres.  The  Generalissimo's  action  is  limited  to 
France,  and  we  need  that  the  Allied  War  Council  should  adopt 
a  broader  outlook,  and  reserve  itself  for  great  things.  Can  one 
conceive  a  greater  muddle  than  the  question  of  Japanese  inter- 
vention in  Siberia  ? 

If  the  Dominion  Premiers  will  demand  complete  information 
on  the  matters  to  which  I  have  alluded  ;  if  they  will  promote  the 
necessary  changes  in  the  War  Cabinet,  and  in  the  functions  of 
the  Allied  War  Council  ;  and,  finally,  if  they  will  leave  behind 
them  trusty  representatives  to  keep  matters  straight  in  future, 
they  will  have  done  much  to  reform  the  higher  direction  of 
ill,  war.  C.  A  Court  Repington. 

July  1,  1918. 

U ',  eek-end  July  6-7.  Down  to  Coombe  to  6tay  with  the 
Pagets,  and  just  as  I  arrived  heard  (hat  the  young  Lady 
Londonderry  had  narrowly  escaped  death  at  Maiden 
Station  and  was  being  doctored  there.  Cravatb  arrived  in 
In-  oar,  and  we  went  off  at  once  to  help.  Found  that  the 
LondonderryB  and  Ricardo  had  come  down  for  golf  and  that 


334    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

all  three  had  jumped  out  of  the  train  while  it  was  in  motion. 
Lady  L.  had  jumped  last,  and  had  rolled  off  the  platform 
below  the  footboard.  One  or  two  carriages  passed  almost 
over  her  after  she  had  fallen,  and  the  shoe  of  the  last  carriage, 
used  for  picking  up  electricity,  and  hanging  loose,  had  struck 
her  on  the  back  of  the  head,  inflicting  a  deepish  wound  which 
bled  a  good  deal  and  had  to  be  sewn  up  in  the  ladies'  waiting- 
room.  All  the  back  of  her  dress  was  torn,  and  she  was  much 
bruised.  But  to  every  one's  amazement  she  jumped  up  after 
the  train  had  passed,  and  quite  coolly  and  cheerfully  declared 
that  she  had  not  been  hurt,  and  was  helped  up  to  the  plat- 
form. After  the  doctor  had  bandaged  her  up  she  and  L. 
took  Cravath's  car  back  to  London,  Lady  L.  much  more 
calm  and  collected  than  any  one  else.  It  must  have  been  a 
pretty  terrible  moment  for  L.,  and  was  a  most  providential 
escape.    Later  came  a  message  to  say  that  she  was  doing  well. 

A  large  party  came  and  went  at  various  hours,  including 
Mr.  Cravath ;  Colonel  Griscom,  liaison  officer  between 
Pershing  and  the  War  Cabinet,  and  formerly  U.S.  Ambas- 
sador at  Rome  ;  Major  Robert  Bacon,  formerly  Ambassador 
at  Paris,  and  now  at  our  G.H.Q.,  whom  I  had  met  and  liked 
much  when  visiting  Pershing  in  October  last ;  Sir  Ronald 
Graham,  Mrs.  George  Keppel,  Countess  Torby,  the  Duchess 
of  Westminster  who  is  off  to  her  hospital  in  France  to- 
morrow again,  Mrs.  Astor,  Mrs.  Taylor,  the  Comte  de 
Noailles,  the  Italian  Ambassador  and  the  Marchesa,  General 
Ashmore  in  charge  of  the  London  Air  Defences,  Mrs.  Ward 
(Miss  Muriel  Wilson),  and  four  fine  tennis  players,  Mr. 
O'Neill,  Miss  Tulloch,  Colonel  Haze,  and  Colonel  Thompson, 
with  a  few  others. 

From  talks  during  this  week-end  I  learnt  that  all  the 
French  divisions  except  one  had  now  been  withdrawn  from 
the  British  line,  and  that  thanks  to  our  troops  which  have 
come  from  Eastern  theatres,  added  to  our  drafts  and  the 
American  loaned  troops,  we  have  nearly  resuscitated  most 
of  the  10  divisions  which  were  knocked  to  bits  at  the  battle 
of  St.  Quentin.  Haig  has  now  18  divisions  out  of  the  line. 
The  Boches  have  still  not  more  than  205  to  207  divisions  in 


1918]  AMERICAN  DOINGS  335 

the  West,  including  GO  to  65  in  reserve,  and  it  is  thought  that 
Foch  can  deal  with  these  with  our  joint  reserves.  The 
Americans  have  now  12  divisions  in  the  line.  It  is  pointed 
out  to  me  that  the  American  troops  have  been  training  since 
August  last  and  are  far  from  green.  Sonic  think  that  three 
months'  intensive  training  is  better  than  nine,  since  it  is  mainly 
physical,  and  the  longer  course  makes  troops  stale.  All 
agree  that  the  real  war  training  can  only  be  given  in  the 
atmosphere  of  the  battle  ground. 

It  appears  that  there  were  some  rather  sharp  discussions 
after  March  21  about  the  hastening  of  American  arrivals. 
Pershing  had  desired  that  all  American  troops  should  come 
as  divisions  and  that  an  American  Army  front  should  be 
constituted  as  soon  as  possible,  but  the  urgent  need  for 
drafts  had  caused  this  to  be  ruled  out.  Pershing's  attitude 
had  been  resented  by  some  highly  placed  people  here,  and 
Griscom  was  sore  about  it,  but  Lady  Paget  and  I  were  able 
to  assure  him  that  we  had  not  heard  one  single  word  of 
criticism  of  Pershing,  and  that  it  must  have  come  from  those 
who  had  been  found  out  for  not  supplying  our  troops  with 
British  drafts.  When  it  became  a  question  of  helping  the 
Americans  to  bring  over  their  infantry  and  machine  gunners 
quickly  we  were  able  to  lend  them  a  great  mass  of  tonnage, 
and  our  other  Allies  naturally  wondered  why  we  had  not 
lent  it  before.  Every  Ally  seems  to  be  holding  on  to  his 
tonnage  and  to  be  very  miserly  about  it,  but  anyhow  things 
are  g<  <ing  well  now.  Cravath  seems  to  think  that  in  a  month 
or  two  we  shall  have  1,500,000  Americans  here,  and  that 
owing  to  maintenance  difficulties  this  will  be  the  limit  for  a 
time,  though  another  1,500,000  will  be  in  training  in  the 
States.  Pershing  will  then  get  his  guns  and  auxiliary 
services,  and  will  gradually  re-create  his  divisions  as  we  are 
able  to  replace  the  Americans  who  have  joined  us.  No  date 
!.  1-  been  fixed  for  this  ;  we  are  simply  to  replace  them  as 
-nun  a-  possible,  and  L.  (;.  in  a  recent  speech  has  admitted 
that  this  is  part  of  our  agreemenl  with  America.    All  the 

new  s  from  the  I  '.S.  seems  to  he  good,  and  that  great  country 
1-  doinu  finely  and  is  enthusiastic  about  the  war.     I  told  the 


336    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

Americans  at  Coombe  that  the  use  of  their  people  as  drafts 
for  our  Army  was  a  great  experiment  and  was  not  without 
risks  and  dangers.  They  find  the  French  difficult  and  the 
language  bar  a  serious  inconvenience. 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  Petain  expected  an  attack 
on  the  Chemin  des  Dames  but  that  Foch  disbelieved  in  it. 
Now  it  is  thought  by  Cornwall,  who  has  replaced  Cox  on 
Macdonogh's  staff  in  London,  that  there  will  be  an  attack 
east  of  Rheims,  and  then  another  against  us  in  the  north, 
followed  by  the  main  effort  in  the  centre,  but  much  seems 
conjecture.  Poor  Pershing  spends  much  of  his  time  on  the 
road,  as  his  divisions  and  troops  are  so  much  scattered. 
Our  instructors  have  impressed  upon  our  American  pupils 
the  primacy  of  the  rifle  as  an  arm,  and  in  their  recent  fight 
the  U.S.  troops  have  proved  most  apt  pupils  in  this  direction. 
Griscom  tells  me  that  in  his  New  York  division  there  were 
many  races  and  eighty -four  different  religions.  The  blacks 
are  in  separate  formations.  There  are  some  black  volunteers. 
One,  after  suffering  all  the  torments  of  trench  life,  from 
rheumatism  to  lice  inclusive,  went  to  hospital  and  asked  the 
doctor  to  examine  his  head.  The  doctor  found  nothing 
wrong.  '  Look  again,'  said  the  darkie.  A  further  search 
revealed  nothing  amiss.  '  But  there  must  be,  doc,'  said  the 
nigger,  '  or  I  should  not  have  been  such  a  fool  as  to  come 
here  at  all !  ' 

Ashmore  tells  me  that  the  3rd  Hun  bombing  squadron 
which  is  specially  detailed  to  bomb  London  is  at  full  strength, 
and  so  Paine's  remarks  cannot  apply  to  it.  A.  thinks  that 
there  are  some  special  aeroplanes  in  Hun  hands  to  enable 
them  to  overcome  his  blanket  defence.  Graham  thinks 
that  the  Huns  are  having  a  bad  time  in  the  Ukraine,  and 
there  is  news  to-day  that  Mirbach  the  German  Ambassador 
in  Moscow  has  been  murdered,  and  that  Moscow  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  counter-revolutionaries.  The  Countess  Torby 
still  very  sarcastic  about  our  joy  at  the  Russian  revolution 
and  scoffs  at  democracy,  saying  she  did  not  know  what  the 
word  meant,  and  protests  that  the  success  of  America  was 
due  to  President  Wilson's  autocratic  and  not  democratic 


1918]  DEMOCRACY  DEFINED  337 

powers.  I  challenged  Cravath  to  pick  up  this  gauntlet, 
and  he  described  democracy  as  government  by  consent 
of  the  governed.  If  the  latter  chose  to  set  up  autocratic 
rule  for  a  special  purpose,  this  was  their  affair.  The 
point  was  that  it  was  with  their  approval,  not  with  their 
disapproval,  and  it  could,  in  principle,  be  revoked  at 
any  time. 

Monday,  July  8.  Drove  back  to  town  with  Cravath  and 
Graham.  We  had  much  talk  of  affairs.  Three  better  or 
more  representative  Americans  than  Cravath.  Griscom,  and 
Bacon,  it  would  be  hard  to  find. 

In  the  evening  I  dined  with  the  American  mission  at  41 
Upper  Grosvenor  Street :  General  Biddle,  Bacon,  Griscom, 
Admiral  Sims  and  an  Aide.  I  expected  a  man's  dinner,  but 
found  that  once  a  fortnight  or  so  there  is  a  regular  dinner 
party,  and  there  were  Lord  and  Lady  Midleton,  Lady  Elcho, 
Lady  Herbert,  Mrs.  Astor,  and  Miss  Chaplin.  A  good  house 
well  furnished,  and  an  excellent  dinner  with  good  wine.  I 
had  some  talk  with  the  Admiral,  who  told  me  that  a  year 
ago  the  Boches  were  actually  winning  the  war  with  the 
submarine,  and  that  wre  should  have  been  in  a  bad  place  had 
we  not  been  able  at  least  to  neutralise  the  pest.  He  said 
that  of  five  Boche  submarines  sent  to  the  Mediterranean  as 
reinforcement  only  one  had  arrived.  He  found  the  Straits 
of  Otranto  the  best  place  to  overcome  them,  as  it  was 
GOO  fathoms  deep  and  the  U-boats  could  not  rest  upon  the 
bottom.  He  hoped  to  make  these  straits  impassable.  Few 
U-boats  used  the  Marmora  base,  which  was  far  from  the 
main  traffic,  and  we  kept  and  watched  our  mines  off  the 
Dardanelles.  The  Turks  had  few  mine-sweepers,  and  only 
cleared  a  bit  of  water  close  in-shore  where  now  and  then  a 
una]]  L'  boat  got  out. 

He  also  told  me  that  he  was  off  to  Paris  for  a  renewed 
discussion  on  naval  affairs.  The  plan  of  a  British 
Admiralissimo  had  broken  down  in  practice,  and,  as  things 
■d.  if  anything  came  out  <>f  the  Black  Sea  we  might  be 
found  scattered.  He  thoughl  that  the  (Joebcu  could  still  do 
twenty  -.-even   knote,   but  the    Rinnans   had  destroyed  two 


338    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

of  their  Dreadnoughts  in  the  Black  Sea  and  many  other 
ships  to  prevent  them  from  falling  into  Boche  hands.  He 
could  not  account  for  the  failure  of  the  Boches  to  attack  the 
American  transports  on  their  way  over,  and  said  that  there 
was  no  authenticated  case  of  an  attempt  to  torpedo  them. 
He  asked  himself  whether  the  Boches  were  sparing  them, 
thinking  that  the  war  would  be  ended  before  the  Americans 
came  in  force,  and  not  wishing  to  infuriate  the  Americans 
in  perpetuity.  It  might  be  that  the  recent  intensive  trans- 
port had  not  been  foreseen  by  the  Boches. 

I  had  a  good  talk  with  Bacon  upstairs  after  dinner.  He 
showed  me  his  table  of  past  and  future  American  arrivals. 
They  are  divided  into  parts,  the  first  including  American 
infantry  and  machine  guns,  and  the  second  the  artillery 
and  services.  According  to  these  tables  there  will  be  thirty 
complete  American  divisions  in  France  by  Sept.  1,  and  this 
month  there  will  be  twenty-four  infantry  divisions.  He  has 
no  doubt  that  the  Americans  desire  to  unite  their  troops 
in  one  portion  of  the  line  as  soon  as  it  can  be  done,  and  he 
wishes  them  to  be  on  our  right,  but  it  is  not  the  French 
idea,  so  will  be  hard  to  compass.  He  is  very  pleased  with 
the  satisfactory  work  of  the  American  troops  in  their  first 
engagements.  They  are  all  much  amused  by  the  Australian 
criticism  that  the  Americans  are  good  in  battle  but  terribly 
rough.  The  Australians  have  hitherto  had  the  credit  of 
being  the  roughest  fighters,  and  for  them  to  call  the  Yankee 
troops  rough  is  regarded  as  the  best  of  compliments.  Bacon 
would  like  Petain,  Haig,  and  Pershing  to  meet  round  a  table 
with  Foch  presiding.  He  complains  that  Foch  has  still  no 
executive  staff,  and  that  for  Foch  to  visit  Haig,  Pershing, 
and  Petain  separately  is  not  the  same  thing  as  for  them 
all  to  meet  together  and  regularly.  Bacon  says  that  five 
American  divisions  are  with  our  troops  ;  they  are  going 
through  a  regular  syllabus  of  instruction,  divided  into  A, 
B,  and  C  phases,  and  while  the  idea  is  to  keep  the  American 
divisions  together  the  men  will  be  used  according  to  the 
stage  of  instruction  reached  when  any  big  attack  begins. 

The  Americans  also  tell  me  that  only  one  U-boat  was  off 


1918]  AT  THE  AMERICAN  MISSION  339 

the  American  coast  the  other  day,  but  that  many  were 
reported.  The  same  thing  happened  here.  Every  bit  of 
wood  sticking  up  in  the  water  was  taken  for  a  periscope. 
Sims  says  that  the  new  Boche  cruiser  U-boats  are  clumsy 
to  handle  and  slow  to  submerge.  They  have  to  keep  out 
of  the  way  of  destroyers  and  small  U-boats,  and  so  their 
best  cruising  ground  is  in  mid-ocean.  The  Americans  are 
delighted  with  their  reception  here,  and  with  all  that  has 
been  done  to  entertain  them.  The  worst  of  it  is  that 
there  are  not  enough  Americans  here  to  enable  all  the 
invitations  to  be  accepted.  They  pass  through  England 
rapidly,  and  the  permanent  contingent  here  are  often  too 
tiicd  to  go  out  at  night.  It  is  pointed  out  to  me  that  it 
Mill  be  the  opinion  of  the  American  rank  and  file  that  will 
form  the  future  American  opinion  of  us,  and  not  the  reports 
of  Ambassadors  and  Generals. 

W&hiesdin/,  July  10.  Wrote  letters,  and  then  lunched 
with  Belle  Herbert,  Norton  of  the  F.O.,  and  the  Ladies 
Bingham,  and  Edward  Gleichen.  A  letter  from  Mrs.  Leeds 
from  Aix  telling  me  her  plans.  In  the  evemng  Sir  Frederick 
and  Lady  Maurice  dined  at  Maryon,  and  we  had  a  good 
talk.  M.  thought  that  the  Americans  had  five  divisions 
with  us  in  the  north,  of  which  three  very  good,  and  other 
units  in  our  reconstituted  divisions,  but  he  imagines  that  we 
have  to  relieve  these  latter  by  the  end  of  the  month  and  he 
doubts  that  we  can  do  it.  He  puts  our  losses  since  March  21 
at  440,000,  and  says  that  our  units  are  only  28,000  short 
now,  but  we  have  only  22,000  A  men  available  here  for 
drafts.  We  have  not  enough  men  coming  on  to  do  more 
than  keep  up  40  divisions,  excluding  the  10  Dominion,  or 
60  in  all,  and  Foch  demands  59  at  a  minimum.  We  have 
made  up  by  the  120,000  18^-year-olds,  by  90,000  B  men 
who  arc  being  incorporated  in  our  cadres  from  France,  by 
the  64  battalions  drawn  from  Eastern  theatres,  and  by 
recovered  wounded.  But  the  position  is  not  good,  and  he 
wishes  U8  to  map  out  our  future  man  power  now  so  that  we 

ni  iv  not  be  six  months  behind  in  preparation  again.  1 
do  not  wonder  '     The  last    French  division  is  just  leaving 


340    THE  GERMAN  OFFENSIVE  CONTINUES 

our  front,  but  our  divisions  in  the  French  line  are  not  back 
yet.  He  puts  the  French  at  105  divisions,  including  the 
Americans,  but  we  agree  that  one  American  division  is 
numerically  equal  to  three  Boche.  M.  agrees  that  a  million 
and  a  half  represents  all  that  the  U.S.  can  maintain  this 
year,  but  they  promise  80  divisions  by  next  June.  M. 
expects  that  the  Boches  will  attack  the  French  from  Mont- 
didier  to  eastward  of  Rheinis.  He  does  not  think  much  of 
our  B-men  divisions,  and  dislikes  second-grade  troops.  The 
French  have  not  begun  to  train  their  1920  class,  to  which 
our  18|  men  are  the  equivalent. 

M.  says  that  Foch  has  not  been  given  an  Inter- Allied  Staff 
because  it  is  not  desired  to  make  him  too  powerful.  There 
is  only  Johnny  Du  Cane  with  a  small  staff,  and  our  G.H.Q. 
complain  that  they  get  directives  impossible  to  execute 
owing  to  the  ignorance  of  Foch's  H.Q.  of  the  real  position. 
There  should  be  a  full  staff,  thinks  M.,  with  A.  and  Q.  re- 
presentatives from  each  national  Army  under  Foch.  But 
we  are  hourly  expecting  a  mighty  battle,  and  change  will 
be  most  inconvenient.  M.  expects  the  Boches  to  deliver 
a  75-division  attack  and  not  a  90-division  one  as  on  March 
21.  He  thinks  that  all  the  best  storm  troops  and  divisions 
of  the  Boches  are  away  in  rear  training  hard,  and  that  this 
is  why  our  recent  attacks  have  found  the  enemy  so  soft. 
M.  does  not  usually  send  his  articles  to  the  Press  Bureau  as 
they  have  to  send  them  over  to  the  W.O.,  and  as  nobody  is 
there  after  7  they  get  hung  up  for  twenty -four  hours. 

An  article  of  mine  to-day  on  the  Delayed  Offensive  and  in 
praise  of  Pershing  and  the  Americans. 

Thursday,  July  11.  Much  rain  and  thunder.  Began 
an  article  in  praise  of  the  French  heroism  during  the  past 
four  years.  In  the  afternoon  sat  on  the  Tribunal.  Dined 
with  Mrs.  Astor,  whose  party  included  the  Maguires,  Mrs. 
Greville,  Lord  Lurgan,  the  Ernest  Cunards,  Mrs.  Keppel, 
Fox  McDonnell,  and  Griscom.  Cunard  told  me  that  he 
had  to-day  seen  in  the  Mersey  some  twelve  big  ships  with 
35,000  more  Americans  on  board  just  arrived,  and  that 
they    were    swarming    ashore.     He    agreed    that    300,000 


1918]  HALLINGBUKY  341 

Americans  would  come  this  month.  The  Americans  are 
putting  8000  men  on  their  biggest  boats,  whereas  we  seldom 
sent  more  than  2000  to  3000  in  one  ship,  but  the  Americans 
were  just  taking  risks  and  there  it  was.  Cunard  did  not 
agree  with  Sims  that  the  submarines  were  sparing  the 
transports.  I  cut  out  at  Bridge  and  went  on  to  Lady 
Huntingdon's,  where  I  heard  some  line  music  and  met  the 
Merry  del  Vals,  Lady  Strafford,  and  Lady  Massereene. 
Lady  S.  has  been  ill,  and  abroad  most  of  the  winter  and 
spring. 

Week-end,  July  13-14.  A  quiet  visit  to  Hallingbury. 
The  gardens  and  park  looking  divine.  Only  Mrs.  Agnew, 
her  sister,  Mr.  Hudson  of  Country  Life,  and  Basil  Oxenden 
there.  Much  talk  of  art,  architecture,  and  gardens. 
Returned  to  London  early.  Found  myself  in  a  smoking 
compartment  with  Lord  Loch,  now  a  Brig. -General.  He  is 
turning  grey,  and  puts  it  down  more  to  the  Staff  College 
than  to  the  Sudan.  He  is  Brig. -General  G.S.  in  Ireland, 
having  been  much  knocked  about  in  the  war.  He  expects 
no  success  from  volunteering  in  Ireland.  We  discussed  the 
war.  He  said  that  Plumer  is  considered  a  lucky  general 
by  the  troops.  Haig  has  the  Army's  confidence,  but  they 
seldom  see  him.  He  would  prefer  Plumer  if  there  were  a 
change. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GERMANS,  JULY  1918 

The  Fifth  Phase  of  the  German  offensive — They  attack  on  the  Marne 
and  in  Champagne  on  a  fifty-five-mile  front — They  cross  the  Marne, 
but  are  beaten  in  Champagne — General  Foch  starts  a  great  counter- 
attack between  the  Marne  and  the  Aisne — Many  German  prisoners 
and  guns  taken — State  of  the  German  divisions — The  murder  of  the 
Tsar — Tragic  accounts  of  Russia — F.M.  Sir  D.  Haig  announces  that 
the  crisis  is  past — There  are  now  1,250,000  Americans  in  France — 
Our  Armies  have  had  half  a  million  casualties  and  have  lost  1000  guns 
— Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  and  General  Debeney's  Armies  win  a  brilliant 
victory  on  August  8 — Some  24,000  prisoners  and  300  guns  taken  by  us 
in  two  days — A  conversation  with  M.  Kerensky — Threatened  re- 
duction of  the  number  of  our  divisions — The  Allies  continue  to 
advance  and  win  battles — Lieut.  Pernot's  views. 

Monday,  July  15.  Fifth  Phase.  In  the  course  of  the 
day  there  came  the  news  that  the  Boches  had  opened 
another  great  attack  from  Chateau-Thierry  on  the  Marne 
to  Massiges  in  Champagne,  a  front  of  fifty-five  miles. 
There  is  fighting  for  the  passage  of  the  Marne,  also  between 
Rheims  and  Chatillon  and  on  the  Champagne  front.  Our 
troops  are  not  yet  engaged. 

Wednesday,  July  17.  The  battle  goes  on  without  great 
advantage  for  the  Boches.  They  are  across  the  Marne  on 
a  narrow  front  and  are  being  warmly  met.  Between  the 
Marne  and  Rheims  they  have  made  little  progress.  In 
Champagne,  Gouraud  has  beaten  them  back  and  is  holding 
them  up.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  most  brilliant  affair. 
About  fifty-six  Boche  divisions  engaged.  Their  plan  is  to  fine 
up  between  the  Marne  and  Seine  and  prolong  the  German 
left  for  an  advance  on  Paris.     The  French,  Americans,  and 

342 


1918]  FOOTS  COUNTER-ATTACK  343 

Italians  have  done  well.  We  are  still  not  attacked  in  the 
north. 

Thursday,  July  18.  An  article  from  me  on  the  battle 
to-day,  and  I  wrote  another  for  to-morrow.  In  the  after- 
noon we  learnt  that  the  French  had  started  a  great  counter- 
attack between  the  Marne  and  the  Aisne,  and  had  reached 
Soissons  on  their  left,  capturing  4000  prisoners  and  thirty 
guns.  A  good  affair,  and  may  have  serious  consequences 
for  the  Boches  on  the  Marne  if  the  French  continue.  Even 
as  it  is,  the  Boche  railway  communications  at  Soissons  are 
severed.  Lunched  with  Olive,  Lady  Leslie,  Mrs.  Watson, 
Sir  Vincent  Caillard,  Mr.  Berenson,  and  General  and  Mrs. 
Matheson.  He  commands  the  4th  Division,  and  is  return- 
ing to  France  to-morrow.  His  division  has  still  only  nine 
battalions,  which  are  not  up  to  900  apiece.  He  says  that 
he  sees  Haig  about  three  or  four  times  a  year,  and  wishes 
that  H.  would  look  at  his  division,  but  that  H.  is  a  shy 
man. 

Saw  X..  who  tells  me  that  when  the  present  Government 
came  in  the  Tories  agreed  that  L.  G.  was  safer  in  power  than 
in  opposition,  and  so  agreed  to  let  him  lead,  intending  to 
master  him,  but  X.  thought  that  they  had  not  done  so. 

Saturday,  July  20.  Lunched  with  Lady  Mar  at  Almond's 
Hotel  in  Clifford  Street,  where  I  used  to  meet  F.M.  Lord 
Roberts  before  the  war.  A  cosy  hotel  with  good  cooking. 
The  Mars  well.  1  recalled  the  story  that  some  one  had 
asked  her  why  she  had  married  and  she  had  replied,  I 
prefer  Mar  and  Kellie  to  Ma  and  Slaps '  ! 

They  invite  me  north  again,  and  I  should  like  to  go  if  I  can 
get  away.  She  says  that  the  American  ships  with  the  Grand 
Fleet  are  very  good  and  that  the  men's  quarters  are  much 
better  1 1 1 - 1 r i  ours,  also  thai  t lie  dentistry  arrangements  are 
excellent.  The  two  Navies  appear  to  get  on  very  well 
together. 

In  the  afternoon   went    to   Poleeden-Lacej  ;   met    Lady 

Kitty  SomeiBei  in  the  trail]  and  travelled  down  with  her. 
She  was  enlei  t.iinin'.r.  She  had  been  with  L.  <;.  last  night, 
and  he  had   talked   like  a  Junker  and  had  told  her  that  he 


344        THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GERMANS 

intended  to  introduce  conscription  in  Ireland  at  once. 
Lady  K.  in  despair.  She  has  just  returned  from  a  long 
visit  to  the  south  of  Ireland  and  is  convinced  that  con- 
scription will  not  work  now.  At  Polesden-Lacey  there 
were  also  the  Robertsons,  Lady  Esme  Gordon  Lennox,  the 
Walter  Burnses,  young  Mr.  Curzon  a  nephew  of  G.  C.'s, 
Miss  Sonia  Keppel,  Mr.  Justice  Younger,  and  some  others. 
Mr.  Poole  came  down  on  Sunday.  I  went  up  for  a  few 
hours  to  write  about  the  battle,  and  came  down  again  with 
Lady  Essex,  with  whom  I  had  a  good  talk.  We  had  some 
good  tennis  both  evenings.  Robertson  told  me  that  he  is 
told  nothing  now  and  never  consulted,  just  as  Lord  French 
was  not,  but  he  is  very  happy  in  his  new  post,  even  though 
he  says  that  the  War  Cabinet  have  taken  away  all  his  men 
for  France.  He  has  fully  warned  the  Cabinet  of  the 
insecurity  of  home  defence.  A  most  pleasant  party,  all 
very  friendly,  and  the  hostess  very  agreeable. 

Monday,  July  22.  Came  up  to  town  with  the  Burnses  and 
Lady  Esme.  Took  the  latter  to  the  Prisoners  of  War  Bureau 
to  see  about  her  brother  Captain  Reggie  Fellowes's  chance 
of  getting  home  from  Germany  ;  in  the  absence  of  Vansittart 
Mr.  Monk  told  us  all  that  there  was  to  be  told. 

The  battle  which  began  on  July  15  and  was  followed  on 
the  18th  by  the  great  Franco- American  counter-attack  on 
the  front  Chateau -Thierry-Soissons  has  gone  very  well  for 
us.  The  Allies  have  taken  over  20,000  prisoners  and  400 
guns,  which  is  a  fine  haul.  The  Boches  retired  from  the 
south  bank  of  the  Marne  last  Friday  night,  and  the  German 
pocket  of  troops  which  reaches  south  from  the  Marne  is 
being  attacked  from  three  sides.  A  clever  and  timely  move 
of  Foch's,  and  very  successful.  The  Americans  have  done 
right  well.  We  have  two  British  divisions  under  Godley 
west  of  the  Montagne  de  Rheims,  and  they  are  fighting 
hard  with  some  five  Boche  divisions.  The  Boches  have 
certainly  some  sixty  divisions  in  the  whole  fray,  including 
the  armies  of  Von  Einem,  Von  Mudra,  and  Von  Boehm,  from 
Massiges  to  Soissons. 

Tuesday,  July  23.     All  goes  well,  but  the  battle  is  quieting 


1918]  LOSS  OF  THE  JUSTICIA  345 

down  a  little.  1  had  an  article  yesterday,  and  wrote  another 
to-day.  A  threat  of  a  great  munition  works  strike  in  the 
Midlands.  To  the  opera  with  Lady  Cunard,  and  found  the 
usual  large  gathering  in  her  boxes,  including  some  Americans, 
Hulton  of  the  Evening  Standard,  du  Hamel,  the  Duchess 
of  Rutland,  Lady  Diana  who  was  looking  very  pretty, 
Joan  Po}'nder,  Mrs.  Lowtlier,  Mrs.  McLaren  looking  very 
prosperous,  Lady  Johnstone  and  Sir  Alan,  Miss  Kerr-Clark, 
and  a  lot  more.  We  heard  Le  Coq d'Or  by  Runisky-Korsakov, 
a  weird  satiric  fairy  tale,  of  which  the  best  tilings  were  the 
music  and  the  ballets  and  setting  arranged  by  Mine.  Seraphine 
Astanova.  I  found  it  fascinating  and  enjoyed  it,  but  un- 
fortunately Beecham  was  not  conducting.  Coming  out  into 
the  street  the  Duchess  had  a  diamond  pin  wrenched  out  of 
her  hair  and  thought  it  had  been  stolen,  but  then  we  saw  it 
in  the  straw  hat  of  a  woman  who  had  rubbed  shoulders  with 
the  Duchess,  and  had  accidentally  transferred  it  to  her  straw 
hat — a  curious  coincidence  and  a  genuine  accident.  I  drove 
Miss  Joan  home  to  Little  College  Street.  A  charming  girl 
and  an  interesting  character. 

Wednesday,  July  24.  The  French  have  had  another  crack 
on  the  Montdidier  front,  and  have  taken  ground  and 
prisoners.  We  continue  to  be  bus}T  on  our  front,  but  nothing 
big  is  happening  there.  In  the  evening  we  learn  that  the 
Justicia,  a  32,000  tonner  of  the  White  Star  Line,  was  tor- 
pedoed off  the  Irish  Coast  last  Friday  after  a  twenty-four 
hour  fight  with  U-boats. 

Thursday,  July  25.  Wrote  another  article.  Later  met 
Colonel  Lucas,  and  the  Belgian  Military  Attache,  the 
Comte  de  Jonghe.  Learnt  that  Cox  believes  that  all  but 
2'.i  of  the  Boche  storm  divisions  have  been  engaged,  and 
that  the  rest  of  the  Boche  armies  are  down  to  400  per  bat- 
talion A  great  question  what  the  Bodies  will  do  now. 
They  M«  getting  more  and  more  squeezed  in  the  Aisne- 
llarne  pocket,  and  the  initiative  is  still  with  Foch.  Some 
65  divisions  in  all  in  the  Crown  Prinoe'fl  attack,  and  of 
them  9  supposed  to  have  come  from  Rupprecht's  command 
in   the  north.      The   rain   is   making  the  Flanders  theatre 


346        THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GERMANS 

unattractive.  It  has  continued  since  St.  Swithin's  Day, 
when  the  Boche  attack  began.  It  appears  that  Petain  made 
the  plan  and  arrangement  for  the  French  counter-stroke, 
sent  the  plan  to  Foch  on  July  12,  who  returned  it  approved 
on  July  13,  and  it  was  to  be  put  into  operation  as  soon  as  the 
Boches  were  fully  committed.  It  worked  out  according  to 
programme,  and  the  Boches  are  still  writhing  under  its  effect 
and  have  made  no  new  move,  though  they  are  fighting  hard 
in  the  pocket,  where  they  have  35  divisions  at  least. 

Friday,  July  26.  I  continue  to  write  most  days  on  the 
battle,  and  am  pretty  fully  occupied  in  collecting  and 
assimilating  information.  Lunched  with  Lady  Cunard,  to 
find  the  Hultons,  Lady  Johnstone,  Miss  Joan  Poynder,  the 
Leverton  Harrises — both  just  now  in  much  political  trouble 
— Lord  Blandford,  Wolkoff,  and  Mr.  McKenna.  I  saw  a 
music-hall  piece  at  the  Alhambra  in  which  George  Robey 
was  very  funny. 

Saturday,  July  27.  No  great  change  at  the  front.  My 
article  on  the  Murman  expedition  banned,  as  also  is  Fred 
Maurice's.  In  the  evening  dined  at  the  Savoy  and  went  to 
the  Gaiety.  Heard  that  when  our  Royal  Family  changed 
their  name  to  Windsor,  the  Kaiser  ordered  a  gala  per- 
formance of  '  The  Merry  Wives  of  Saxe-Coburg  Gotha ' ! 

Sunday,  July  28.  Wrote  an  article  on  the  retreat  of  the 
Germans  from  the  Marne  and  the  German  losses.  Took  Lady 
Cunard  to  Lady  Islington's,  where  the  Duke  of  Connaught 
was  lunching,  also  du  Hamel,  and  Major  Schiek  the  U.S. 
Assistant  Provost-Marshal  in  London.  Lord  I.  and  Miss 
Joan  also  there,  he  looking  quite  well  again  after  his  bad 
illness  and  operation.  The  Duke  very  pleased  with  the  fine 
performances  of  the  British  divisions  east  and  west  of 
Rheims.  He  is  disposed  to  approve  the  Murman  expedition 
which  he  expects  me  to  attack.  Schiek  told  us  a  good  deal 
about  his  work,  which  has  been  delicate.  He  will  soon  have 
a  good  staff.  There  is  a  good  scheme  for  tracing  every 
American  over  here  by  identification  papers.  Schiek  has 
just  caught  one  of  the  greatest  criminals  in  America,  who  has 
been  posing  as  an  officer  with  the  U.S.  Armies  under  false 


1918]  A  DULL  DOG  347 

passports,  and  has  been  living  almost  at  Headquarters  all 
the  time.  We  all  went  on  to  Manfred  at  Drury  Lane  with 
Schumann's  music.  The  music  was  fascinating  but  the  play 
boring.  I  had  no  recollection  that  Byron  could  be  such  a 
dull  dog.  Various  people  came  in  between  the  acts,  including 
Mark  Sykes  and  his  wife.  Mark  promised  me  a  couple  of 
his  caricatures  as  good  as  Lady  Canard's.  I  came  away 
early,  looked  in  to  see  Gwynne,  and  then  home  with  the 
latest  news  to  complete  the  article. 

Monday,  July  29.  The  retreat  of  the  Boches  from  the 
Maine  goes  on,  and  most  people  are  hypnotised  by  it  and  see 
nothing  else.  My  article  was  not  passed  by  the  Censor  last 
night  and  came  back  much  mangled  to-day.  I  wished 
to  withdraw  the  article  altogether,  but  Gwynne  said  he 
wanted  to  put  some  in.  In  the  evening  Lady  Massereene, 
Marjorie,  and  Charles  de  Noailles  dined  at  Mary  on.  A  good 
dinner  and  a  pleasant  evening,  but  the  Bridge  did  not  come 
off  as  de  Noailles  does  not  play  and  I  had  forgotten  the  fact. 
He  told  me  after  dinner  that  it  was  quite  true  that  Paris 
had  got  to  know  all  about  the  truth  of  the  Chemin  des  Dames 
smash.  He  said  that  at  this  moment  we  were  still  260,000 
bayonets  below  the  Boche  figures,  but  I  doubt  it.  He  said 
that  no  one  knew  what  the  Boche  would  do  next.  Formerly 
it  was  easy  to  know  where  the  Boche  had  an  attack  mounted. 
Now  he  has  several,  notably  Arras  to  Amiens,  and  Mont- 
didier  to  Compiegne.  The  Americans  had  13  divisions  in 
the  line,  a  14th  just  coming  in,  and  three  behind  training. 
They  were  doing  very  well  indeed,  but  the  first  breeze  had 
come  when  the  French  had  asked  President  Wilson  for 
100  divisions  and  he  would  only  guarantee  80.  We  had 
apparently  promised  to  keep  up  our  60  or  so.  Cox  and 
Cornwall  were  pleased  about  the  situation  on  our  front. 
The  ladies  very  charming,  and  we  sat  up  talking  till  late. 

Tuesday,  July  30.  I  wrote  an  article  as  much  for  the 
Bodies  as  for  us.  suggesting  that  it  was  high  time  to  make 
an  estimate  of  the  forces  required  for  victory  in  1919,  and 
to  allot  to  each  Ally  hie  share  in  the  effort.  This  proposal 
will  give  the   Boches  cold  shivers.    The  Boches  are  still 

VOL.   II.  2  A 


348        THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GERMANS 

retiring  slowly  north  of  the  Marne,  but  fighting  quite  hard, 
and  progress  is  slow. 

I  lunched  alone  with  Lady  Juliet,  who  was  looking 
very  bonny  from  her  country  life  and  told  me  much  about 
her  new  fourteenth-century  country  house  in  Kent  which 
she  has  bought  from  Sir  L.  Mallet.  It  must  be  quite 
ideal,  and  I  promise  to  go  there  later.  She  is  off  to  Wales 
at  the  end  of  the  week  and  will  not  be  back  in  town  till 
September.  She  has  seen  nothing  of  Bee  Pembroke  lately. 
Muriel  Herbert  is  with  the  W.A.A.C.s  somewhere  in  France. 

Wednesday,  July  31.  Lunched  with  the  James  Muirheads, 
and  met  Major  Johnstone,  U.S.  General  Staff  and  a  Harvard 
Professor,  with  whom  I  had  a  long  talk  on  the  future 
of  the  war  and  questions  of  strategy  and  organisation. 
Generally  he  shares  my  ideas.  He  is  all  for  the  West, 
but  when  we  are  quite  safe  there  he  talks  of  the  Baltic, 
of  which  I  was  critical,  and  said  that  I  preferred  Con- 
stantinople and  the  leverage  on  South  Russia  to  follow. 
He  wants  to  stop  the  flow  of  U.S.  troops  to  France  in  six 
weeks'  time,  then  to  use  the  ships  to  replenish  the  Allies  with 
food  and  materials  of  which  they  are  short,  and  to  train  the 
rest  of  the  U.S.  Army  in  America.  I  thought  that  the  right 
atmosphere  for  training  was  only  to  be  found  in  France. 
He  is  not  for  English  officers  for  training  as  he  thinks  them 
trench-warfare  specialists,  and  wants  the  U.S.  troops  collected 
together  for  fighting  after  the  present  phase  is  over.  We 
discussed  Italy  and  the  chance  of  bringing  over  Bulgaria 
or  Turkey.  Tribunal  later.  Dined  with  the  Beresfords, 
Dr.  Dillon,  Mr.  Lyon,  Arthur  Stanley,  and  Miss  Kerr-Clark. 
Stanley  expects  to  get  £2,000,000  in  £1  tickets  for  the  Red 
Cross  pearl-necklace  lottery. 

Thursday,  Aug.  1.  The  Post  publishes  my  appreciation 
of  the  services  rendered  to  the  public  by  the  war  correspond- 
ents with  our  Armies,  and  by  our  special  correspondents  in 
the  Allied  capitals,  to  whom  I  have  long  felt  we  owed  an 
acknowledgment . 

Lunched  with  Lady  Paget ;  the  Grand  Duchess  George, 
Lady  Muriel  Paget,  Mme.  Stoeckl,  Mr.  Self  ridge,  and  Mr. 


1918]  THE  CRISIS  PAST  349 

Whit  more,  an  American  who  had  met  Lady  Muriel  in  Russia. 
The  inurder  of  the  Tsar  the  chief  topic  of  conversation,  and 
there  are  reports  of  three  Grand  Dukes  also  murdered,  but 
the  G.  D.  does  not  know  whether  her  husband  may  be  one  of 
them.  She  tried  to  enlist  me  to  get  military  employment  for 
some  200  officers  of  the  Russian  Army  now  in  London.  The 
situation  of  Russians  of  all  classes  in  London  is  terrible. 
They  have  no  money.  The  G.  D.  has  started  a  shop  at 
which  Russian  ladies  work,  and  she  was  wearing  a  dress 
made  by  herself.  The  accounts  of  Russia  given  by  Lady 
Muriel  and  Mr.  Whitmore  were  most  tragic.  It  is  declared 
that  90  per  cent,  of  the  children  at  Kief!  must  die  of 
hunger.  She  was  in  Kieff  when  the  Bolshevists  bombarded 
and  stormed  the  town.  She  was  not  interfered  with,  but 
2600  Russian  officers  were  murdered.  She  wants  the 
Allied  Expedition  from  Vladivostok  to  get  to  Irkutsk 
this  year  and  to  the  Urals  next  year  early,  or  all  the  muni- 
tion factories  will  be  lost.  I  went  to  tea  with  her  later, 
and  she  showed  me  some  letters  and  gave  me  more  news. 
The  Colonial  Office  seems  to  be  looking  after  the  Siberian 
affair,  and  there  are  only  some  7000  men  going  there. 

Friday  and  Saturday,  Aug.  2-3.  In  town  for  the  Bank 
Holiday  week-end  owing  to  pressure  of  work.  Wrote  a 
retrospect  of  the  four  years  of  war,  and  another  article  on 
War  and  Forethought.  The  German  retreat  in  the  Marne 
pocket  continues,  and  the  Allied  troops  are  drawing  up  to 
the  Vesle.  There  is  no  sign  yet  of  any  fresh  enterprise  on 
the  German  side,  and  even  before  Albert  the  Boches  are 
going  back,  possibly  owing  to  the  water-logged  state  of  their 
dflfemx -s.  Haig  issues  a  General  Order  declaring  that  the 
arifflfl  is  past  and  thanking  his  troops  for  righting  one  against 
three.      General  March  gives  out  in  America  that  there  are 

now    1,260, '   Americans  in   France.     They  have  fought 

grandly,  but  must  have  lost  heavily.  Dined  at  10  Talbot 
Square  with  Olive,  Mrs.  Norton,  and  Pat  Cox.  The  latter 
is  now  on  the  stuff  of  the  training  school  for  commanding 
offioON  it  Aldewhot.  Hie  is  dubious  about  numbers  and 
-1   that   in   many    battalions  there   are   now   only  three 


350        THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GERMANS 

platoons,  but  they  are  numbered  as  if  they  were  four.  He 
is  not  satisfied  with  our  machine-gun  tactics,  which  are  not 
based  on  any  accepted  principles.  He  wants  a  good  reserve 
of  them  with  battalion  and  brigade  headquarters.  He 
thinks  the  German  system  of  pocket  attacks  played  out 
and  demonstrably  dangerous  owing  to  their  exposed  flanks. 
He  complains,  like  others,  that  the  men  seldom  see  their 
Army  or  Army  Corps  Commanders,  and  thinks  that  there 
are  hundreds  of  officers  in  his  division  who  could  not  give 
the  name  of  their  Corps  Commander.  Our  new  tanks  go 
eighteen  miles  an  hour.  They  should  be  followed  up  by 
machine  guns  on  some  sort  of  conveyances  to  hold  points 
and  lines  until  the  infantry  get  up,  especially  on  the  flanks 
of  an  attack. 

I  have  been  adding  up  our  total  casualties  in  all  theatres 
reported  since  March  21  last,  and  they  amount  to  24,223 
officers  and  440,437  other  ranks.  Grand  total  464,660, 
March  21  to  July  31. 

Sunday,  Aug.  4.  The  pursuit  of  the  Boche  to  the  Vesle 
goes  on  handsomely,  and  it  looks  as  if  he  were  north  of  that 
river  and  possibly  going  back  across  the  Aisne.  Read  and 
wrote.  Dined  at  the  N.  and  M.  and  found  the  tables 
arranged  for  a  dozen  people  to  sit  together.  Englishmen 
are  not  gregarious  enough  to  like  such  an  arrangement. 
However,  I  found  myself  opposite  General  X.  and  we  had 
some  interesting  talk.  He  does  not  know  what  the  Boche 
will  do  next,  but  thinks  that  the  retreat  over  a  great  river  is 
serious  in  these  days,  as  the  airmen  have  changed  the  char- 
acter of  the  problem  so  much.  But  he  is  disposed  to  excuse 
the  French  for  not  making  the  enemy  pay  more  dearly  for 
his  retreat  across  the  Marne,  as  only  continued  attacks  can 
discover  a  retreat  by  night.  He  believes  that  Von  Einem 
may  well  have  lost  50,000  men  in  the  attack  on  Gouraud, 
and  reminded  me  of  our  60,000  loss  on  July  1,  1916.  He 
says  that  if  I  go  to  Italy  I  shall  find  the  Italians  in  the  belief 
that  they  have  saved  Europe.  He  considers  the  Austrians 
incapable  of  applying  German  tactics.  We  both  fear  that 
the  slightest  advantage  on  our  side  will  harden  the  heart  of 


1918]  THREE  GROUPS  OF  LOSSES  351 

our  Pharaoh,  and  that  lie  will  refuse  to  let  the  people  go  into 
the  Army  in  the  belief  that  all  is  over  but  the  shouting.  X. 
no  more  knows  what  a  '  second-line  division  '  is  than  do 
Robertson  and  I,  and  wishes  the  name  to  be  abolished.  I 
told  him  that  several  people  in  London  knew  of  the  intended 
raids  on  Essen  and  Berlin,  and  he  was  rather  surprised.  He 
agreed  with  me  in  disliking  the  name  of  the  '  Independent 
Air  Force,'  as  there  could  be  no  '  independent  '  war  by  a 
part  of  the  Army.  He  thinks  that  L.  G.  should  have  the 
credit  for  having  stirred  up  America  to  send  over  such  masses 
of  men.  I  agreed,  but  said  that  if  they  had  not  come  L.  G. 
himself  would  have  been  discredited  and  fired  out,  so  that 
there  was  every  reason  for  him  to  hustle.  X.  says  that  the 
willing  Americans  have  been  a  bit  overdriven  in  the  recent 
fighting,  but  that  their  losses  were  not  so  terribly  high.  I 
mentioned  the  three  great  groups  of  our  losses,  i.e.  in  the 
five  months  of  1916,  the  seven  of  1917,  and  the  four  of  1918, 
in  each  of  which  we  had  had  half  a  million  casualties,  and  we 
agreed  that  the  half  million  in  the  four  months  of  1918  when 
we  were  on  the  defensive  was  part  of  the  answer  to  the 
expected  eventual  attack  on  our  Commanders  for  wasting 
them  in  the  attack.  The  other  part  of  the  answer  is  that 
the  Bodies  lost  at  least  as  many  men  as  we  did  in  our 
attacks. 

Afterwards  I  talked  with  General  Count  de  Jonghe.  He 
was  impressed  with  the  magnitude  of  the  recent  moral 
victory  over  the  enemy,  and  wished  us  to  exploit  it  when  the 
Boche  fell  to  talking,  as  de  J.  thought  he  would  after  re- 
crossing  the  Aisne.  I  found  him  unsympathetic  about 
Bffllding  troops  to  Russia,  largely  I  think  because  he  feels 
th.it  there  will  be  no  Belgium  left  soon  owing  to  Boche  ex- 
ions  and  severities.  He  wants  Belgium  to  be  neutral 
after  the  war,  to  avoid  being  drawn  into  French  politics. 
I  thought  this  idea  interesting  but  not  convincing.  I  said 
that  neutrality  had  proved  a  broken  reed,  so  why  trust  it 
again  \  l\<-  thought  because  l;.  I^ium  had  been  violated 
onoe  and  was  therefore  not.  likely  to  be  violated  again.  I 
Bald  that    1  did  not    know    whether  a  violated  virgin  was  less 


352        THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GERMANS 

likely  to  be  violated  a  second  time,  and  rather  thought  the 
reverse.  Not  if  the  first  violator  is  hanged,  replied  de  J. 
We  have  not  hanged  yours  yet,  I  retorted.  He  is  for  an 
increased  Austria,  and  he  defended  Woeste  and  the  Old 
Catholics  from  my  criticisms.  I  should  say  that  his  views 
may  be  those  of  the  Old  Catholic  majority  in  Belgium. 
De  J.  admits  that  the  Bodies  are  below  strength,  nearly 
50  per  cent,  in  the  case  of  Rupprecht's  ordinary  divisions, 
but  says  that  we  are  low  too  and  the  French  very  low.  He 
asked  me  what  I  thought  they  were,  and  I  said  at  a  guess 
some  90  divisions  of  6000  bayonets,  with  which  he  seemed  to 
agree.  He  is  not  keen  for  America  to  capture  France  and 
to  pose  as  arbitrator  later  on.  He  allows  the  American 
divisions  an  aggregate  of  28,000  to  30,000  men  each.  He 
wants  peace  quickly,  and  this  impatience  colours  all  his  argu- 
ments. He  is  not  satisfied  that  only  ten  of  Rupprecht's 
divisions  are  with  the  Crown  Prince. 

Monday,  Aug.  5.  Lunched  with  Lady  Sarah  and  Mrs. 
George  Keppel  in  Great  Cumberland  Place.  Lady  S.  better, 
but  still  weak.  I  read  an  attack  by  Rothermere  on  our 
generalship  and  our  casualties,  and  wrote  a  severe  reply. 
The  Boches  are  now  all  shepherded  north  of  the  Vesle,  the 
bridges  of  the  stream  are  all  broken,  and  the  Americans  have 
taken  Fismes.  It  is  not  yet  certain  whether  it  will  be  worth 
our  while  to  attack  the  enemy  here,  as  we  can  make  his  life 
very  miserable,  and  we  are  also  at  Soissons.  No  signs  of  any 
other  Boche  initiative. 

Saturday,  Aug.  10.  Sixth  Phase.  The  British  Attack. 
At  dawn  on  Thursday  8,  Sir  D.  Haig  with  Rawlinson's 
4th  Army,  and  the  French  1st  Army  under  Debeney, 
opened  an  attack  on  the  Boche  east  and  south-east  of 
Amiens,  from  near  Albert  on  the  Somme  to  the  region 
of  Montdidier.  Very  successful.  In  two  days  about  eight 
to  ten  miles  gained,  and  we  take  24,000  prisoners  and 
some  300  guns.  The  attack  began  with  a  four  minutes' 
hurricane  fire,  and  then  the  infantry  and  tanks  went  in  under 
a  creeping  barrage  and  were  everywhere  most  successful. 
It  was  practically  a  surprise,  and  the  valley  mists  helped  us. 


1918]  THE  VICTORY  OF  AUGUST  8  353 

Only  at  Morlancourt,  north  of  the  Somine,  could  the  Boches 
hold  firm,  and  this  Saturday  morning  the  Americans  and  our 
men  took  Morla ncourt.  To-day  also  the  French  have  opened 
another  attack  between  MontdidierandLassigny  on  a  sixteen- 
mile  front,  and  the  Boches  had  to  leave  Montdidier  hurriedly. 
Great  captures  of  men  and  materials,  and  a  regular  Boche 
rout.  A  tine  affair,  and  I  hope  that  nothing  may  mar  it. 
The  4th  Army  attack  conducted  mainly  by  Canadians 
and  Australians  who  fought  grandly.  Motor  machine-gun 
batteries  and  our  cavalry  were  all  pressing,  and  the  airmen 
lost  sixty  machines  in  co-operating  close  to  the  ground, 
besides  putting  down  some  fifty  Boche  machines. 

Many  people  away.  I  refused  two  pleasant  week-end 
invitations  in  order  to  stay  and  help  Gwynne.  Lady 
Massereene  and  Miss  K.  Norton  dined  with  me  at  the  Ritz 
on  the  6th,  and  we  forgathered  with  Lords  Queenborough 
and  Peel  and  their  party  afterwards.  On  the  7th  I  saw 
Major  Griscom  to  talk  of  my  intended  visit  to  France.  He 
believes  that  the  American  losses  are  about  37,000  in  the 
recent  fighting.  He  says  that  Pershing  deprecates  the  idea 
that  America  can  do  marvels  yet,  and  does  not  want  the  idea 
to  spread  of  exaggerated  American  possibilities.  Tribunal, 
Thursday.  Friday,  dined  with  Lady  Massereene ;  Lady 
Rodney,  Lady  Burrell,  Lord  Edward  Gleichen,  Cyril  Hankey, 
and  Mrs.  Stanley  Wilson.  A  pleasant  party.  Mrs.  S.  W.  is 
poor  Robert  Filmer's  sister,  and  wants  me  to  visit  his  old 
home.  Lady  B.  nursing  in  Park  Lane.  We  are  all  very 
pleased  with  the  news  from  France. 

To-day  I  had  a  talk  with  the  French  naval  attache,  and 
we  discussed  the  chance  of  a  Boche  naval  attack.  He  thinks 
that  it  may  come  as  a  counsel  of  despair.  I  was  also  told 
that  the  Boches  were  now  laying  down  some  destroyers  on 
slips  previously  occupied  by  U-boats,  and  it  is  supposed 
that  they  iniL'ht  have  a  fleet  action  in  view,  but  now  the 
American  ships  were  over  here  it  i    a  bit  late. 

Wednttdoy,  Aug,  14.  I  remained  in  London  again  over 
last  week  end  and  continue  to  write  every  day.  Lady  Sarah 
came  to  tea  on  Sunday  and  loved  the  house.     Kill  v  Black- 


354        THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GERMANS 

burne  lunched  with  me  Monday.  Saw  Count  Wrangel, 
the  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  and  Blandford,  and  also 
Nabokoff,  who  is  content  with  the  way  things  are  going 
in  Russia  and  tells  me  that  all  the  Russians  here  who  are 
not  slackers  will  be  found  jobs.  Dined  on  Monday  with 
the  Ladies  Randolph  and  Sarah  and  M.  du  Hamel.  Rivers 
waited  on  us.  We  went  on  to  see  the  Freedom  of  the  Seas, 
quite  a  good  spy  play.  Lunched  with  Olive,  Tuesday,  and 
found  Gwynne,  Morgan,  Mrs.  Norton,  and  Mrs.  Murray. 
Heard  last  night  that  Jack  Cowans  had  been  taken  ill  and 
was  at  the  American  hospital  at  Lancaster  Gate.  Went  to 
call  there  and  found  that  he  had  just  escaped  an  operation 
for  appendicitis,  and  would  not  be  allowed  to  see  any  one 
for  some  days.  The  doctors  hope  that  the  inflammation  will 
then  subside.  The  last  Tribunal  till  September  12.  Wrote 
on  Wednesday  a  rather  specially  good  article  on  '  Time  and 
Tide,'  to  show  how  the  German  dread  of  loss,  and  waste  of 
time  in  their  attacks,  had  caused  their  failure. 

Dined  with  Mme.  Vandervelde  the  same  evening  to  meet 
Kerensky,  ex-head  of  the  Provisional  Government  of  Russia, 
ex-Prime  Minister,  War  Minister,  and  Dictator  or  something 
near  it.  Spring-Rice,  Berenson,  and  a  few  more.  We  drew 
Kerensky  out.  He  is  about  5  ft.  8,  clean-shaved,  about  forty 
or  so,  with  a  longish  nose  and  pointed  cranium.  A  strong 
face,  rather  small  eyes,  and  sallow  complexion.  He  was 
in  Moscow  last  May,  and  escaped  disguised  via  Murmansk. 
He  thinks  that  he  has  not  been  well  treated  here  or  in  Paris, 
and  is  pretty  sore  about  it.  He  seems  a  genuine  man  who 
feels  deeply  Russia's  misfortunes,  but  he  lacks  grandeur. 
I  should  say  a  fine  speaker  and  actor  with  quick  and  appro- 
priate gestures,  all  giving  a  sense  of  power  and  domination. 
He  spoke  bad  French  which  spoilt  his  flow  of  language.  He 
told  us  much  of  the  present  and  recent  past  of  Russia.  He 
expects  that  the  peasants  will  now  go  to  Petrograd  and 
Moscow,  will  suppress  the  Bolshevists,  and  act  with  the 
Conservative  elements  who  are  largely  Germanophil.  They 
will  set  up  a  military  government  as  a  preliminary  to  the 
re-establishment  of  the  Monarchy,  and  he  does  not  expect 


1918]  KERENSKY  ON  RUSSIA  355 

them  to  worry  much  about  Murmansk.  They  will  aim  at 
the  Volga  and  the  Don.  The  majority  of  the  Don  Cossacks 
will  probably  join  them.  Kerensky  says  that  the  Czecho- 
slovak bands  number  300,000  in  all,  but  that  only  60,000  to 
70,000  are  really  Czecho-Slovaks,  the  rest  being  Russians, 
ex-officers  and  soldiers  and  anti-German  elements.  He  \\  as 
contemptuous  of  Allied  diplomacy,  and  says  that  we  must 
either  support  the  democratic  elements  in  Russia  or  the  reac- 
tionaries, and  that  at  present  we  were  supporting  neither  and 
so  had  no  friends.  He  will  be  content  with  100,000  Allies 
at  Irkutsk,  and  wants  them  to  bring  arms  and  munitions. 
He  declares  that  not  more  than  10  per  cent,  of  Allied  promises 
about  munitions  of  war  were  fulfilled  while  he  was  in  office. 
It  is  just  as  well.  In  January  1917  he  says  that  there  were 
alread}-  1,200,000  Russian  deserters  in  the  interior.  He  puts 
Russia's  losses  at  six  to  seven  millions,  including  3,000,000 
dead  and  2,000,000  prisoners,  but  admits  that  these  figures 
are  not  precise.  He  vows  that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  famous  Prikaz  No.  1,  and  thinks  that  German  influence 
may  have  had  something  to  do  with  it.  He  told  us  all  the 
story  of  Korniloff's  attempted  coup  d'etat  and  why  it  failed. 
Kerensky  himself  had  been  asked  to  become  Dictator  but 
had  refused,  because  there  was  no  Governmental  machinery 
to  make  Dictatorship  effective,  i.e.  no  police,  troops,  etc. 
He  thought  Korniloff  a  patriot,  but  only  a  man  of  action  and 
incapable  of  careful  thought.  Even  with  an  army  he  could 
only  deliver  a  slap-dash  offensive  and  did  not  know  when  to 
stop.  Much  harm,  he  said,  had  been  done  by  the  millions 
of  men  placed  in  Russian  depots  without  arms  and  proper 
training.  All  these  masses  had  spent  their  days  and  nights 
in  1  .tlking.  An  interesting  figure,  not  sympathetic,  but 
•iiiLr  by  reason  of  his  display  of  deep  feeling.  He  left 
me  under  an  impression  that  owing  to  the  chaos  and 
complexity  of  Russian  affairs  the  settlement  may  last 
very  long. 

Thursday,  Aug.  15.  Lunched  with  Sir  William  Robertson. 
He  wafl  very  well  and  oheery,  but  was  only  doing  his  job 
and  not  weing  any  one,  nor  was  he  ever  consulted.     We 


356        THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GERMANS 

had  a  good  talk  about  events,  and  were  agreed  as  usual. 
In  the  evening  there  dined  with  me  at  Maryon,  Lady 
Massereene,  Mrs.  Astor,  Miss  K.  Norton,  de  Noailles, 
and  Leo  Maxse.  A  capital  talk.  Towards  the  end  of 
dinner  Maxse  opened  out  about  German  affairs,  and 
thrilled  us  by  his  description  of  and  comment  on  the  past 
relations  of  England  and  Germany  and  the  share  of  praise 
and  blame  which  was  due  to  various  people.  We  sat  talking 
till  past  midnight.  A  lovely  day,  and  a  fine  still  night.  All 
quiet  in  France,  but  the  pot  boils  up  in  Russia  again. 

Friday,  Aug.  16.  Kitty  and  Betty  lunched  with  me  at 
the  Ritz,  and  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  see  them 
again.  After  lunch  I  saw  M.  Bignon,  head  of  the  French 
mission  in  London,  who  promised  me  a  list  of  people  to  see 
in  Paris,  and  was  very  flattering  about  my  work.  Dined 
with  Lady  Carnarvon  at  48  Bryanston  Square  :  the  Arthur 
Portmans,  the  young  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  Mr.  Lygon, 
Colonel  Lucas,  General  Hutchison  and  his  wife,  Lady  C.'s 
daughter,  Lady  Massereene,  and  several  others.  A  pleasant 
party.  The  house  is  a  hospital,  and  Lady  C.  is  famous  for 
her  dressings  in  difficult  cases.  I  was  much  concerned  to 
hear  from  Hutchinson  that  though  we  can  keep  up  58  divi- 
sions in  France  now,  we  shall  be  unable  to  manage  more 
than  43  next  year  and  keep  them  filled  at  10 -battalion 
strength.  It  is  much  less  than  Foch  asks  for.  The 
French  mission  under  Colonel  Roure,  which  came  here 
twice  some  time  ago  to  inquire  into  our  effectives, 
seems  to  have  caused  some  ill-feeling.  Fortunately  the 
splendid  action  of  America  has  made  the  question  of  Allied 
effectives  less  acute  than  recently.  The  Americans  promise 
80  divisions  of  45,000  men  next  spring,  when  they  propose 
to  have  3,000,000  men  in  France,  and  another  1,000,000  in 
the  training  camps  at  home  including  18  more  divisions  as 
a  reserve. 

Saturday  and  Sunday,  Aug.  17-18.  Lunched  with  E. 
and  Oliver  Haig,  and  then  went  down  to  Polesden-Lacey  to 
Mrs.  Greville's,  finding  the  Maguires,  George  and  Lady  Agnes 
Peel,  Baron  Michiels,  General  Sir  Bryan  Mahon,  and  a  few 


1918]       DOMINIONS  AND  WAR  CABINET         357 

more.  We  played  golf  in  the  morning  and  tennis  in  the 
afternoon.  Lovely  weather  and  gorgeous  sunsets.  The 
Mahout  had  gone  to  Cookham  instead  of  Bookkam,  and  had 
spent  all  the  afternoon  in  finding  his  way  back.  He  is 
opposed  to  the  Indian  reforms,  and  thinks  that  we  cannot 
hold  India  if  they  are  introduced.  George  Peel  of  the  contrary 
view.  Sir  Edward  Kemp  the  Canadian  came  on  Sunday, 
and  was  interesting  on  Canadian  subjects.  He  told  us  that 
there  were  1000  marriages  a  month  between  Canadians 
and  English  girls.  It  gave  me  pleasure  to  learn  that  my 
proposal  to  the  Dominion  Premiers  that  they  should  have 
representatives  on  the  War  Cabinet  had  been  adopted. 
Kemp  thinks  that  he  may  be  the  Canadian  representative. 
The  War  Cabinet  will  now  be  less  well  able  to  play  tricks, 
for  the  Dominion  men  will  be  independent  of  them,  or  at 
least  I  hope  so. 

Wednesday,  Aug.  21.  In  France  the  French  have  been 
making  good  progress  north  and  south  of  the*Oise,  and  to- 
day came  news  that  the  British  had  attacked  again  north 
of  the  Ancre  this  morning  at  4.55  and  were  making  satis- 
factory progress.  I  wrote  an  article  on  Russian  affairs  and 
I .     tern  strategy,  also  busy  with  the  revision  of  Vestigia. 

Week-end,  Aug.  24-26.  Down  to  Coombe.  A  party  of 
men  mainly,  including  Sir  W.  Tyrrell,  Major  Griscom,  and 
the  Droghedas.  I  found  Tyrrell  very  interesting,  and 
we  had  long  talks  on  foreign  affairs.  He  considers  that 
Austria  abandoned  her  independence  when  she  signed  the 
alliance  with  Germany  in  1878,  and  that  our  old  friendship 
with  Austria  is  past  praying  for.  I  do  not  care  for  breaking 
up  Austria  and  leaving  a  lot  of  potty  states  for  Germany  to 
intrigue  with,  but  it  seems  that  this  is  our  policy.  In  the 
afternoon  Griscom  and  Mrs.  Colston  played  Major  Maze  and 
Lady  Drogheda,  and  showed  us  really  beautiful  tennis  of 
the  most  attractive  kind.  I  returned  with  Tyrrell  on 
Monday  morning.  We  had  a  great  talk,  and  ho  is  certainly 
wonderfully  perspicacious,  well-informed,  and  clear  in  his 
\  won. 

Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  Aug.  27-28.     Occupied  most  of 


358        THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GERMANS 

the  time  in  arranging  for  my  new  journey  abroad.  Journey- 
ing in  war  time  is  the  devil,  the  formalities  are  interminable. 
First  I  have  to  get  a  permit  from  G.H.Q.,  and  it  is  delivered 
to  me  at  the  French  Permit  Office,  18  Bedford  Square. 
Then  there  is  the  passport  to  be  vised  at  59  Victoria  Street, 
now  the  Passport  Office,  where  a  large  crowd  is  usually 
waiting.  Then  there  is  money  to  be  changed,  and  the  Q.M.G. 
branch  arranges  my  seat  in  train,  cabin  on  board,  and  for 
me  to  be  met  at  Boulogne.  The  Italian  Embassy  inform 
me  that  General  Diaz  and  the  Italian  War  Minister  will  be 
glad  to  receive  me.  Griscom  has  also  arranged  for  my  visit 
to  Pershing.  All  the  things  have  to  be  made  to  fit  in,  and 
the  Post  is  a  little  disconsolate  at  my  leaving  them. 

The  fighting  in  France  goes  well.  Byng  and  Rawlinson  are 
advancing  on  the  whole  front  east  of  the  fine  Arras-Amiens 
and  draw  near  the  Upper  Somme  and  Bapaume.  Debeney 
has  taken  over  the  Canadian  front  on  Rawlinson's  right  and 
has  entered  Roye.  Humbert  advances  with  skill,  and  Mangin 
north  of  the  Aisne  has  reached  the  Ailette.  The  Canadians 
have  been  taken  up  to  Arras,  I  suppose  to  join  Home's 
1st  Army,  and  have  taken  Monchy  and  are  getting  on  well. 
We  have  taken  about  50,000  prisoners  and  several  hundred 
guns  since  August  8.  The  Boches  are  retreating,  fighting 
hard  in  places,  towards  the  Hindenburg  Line,  and  I  think 
that  there  is  every  chance  of  a  big  American  attack  further 
east  very  soon.  The  Boches  are  showing  distress  and  the 
tone  in  Germany  is  despondent.  Affairs  have  never  looked 
brighter,  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  doubt  about  our  strengths 
in  France  I  should  be  well  content.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  War  Cabinet  actually  issued  orders  to  Haig  to  begin 
reducing  his  divisions  to  45.  On  Monday  last  I  wrote  a 
leader  in  the  Post ;  it  was  entitled  '  The  Winning  Hand ' 
and  showed  what  a  fine  situation  had  arisen,  but  that  the 
War  Cabinet  would  be  unprofitable  servants  if  they  did  not 
keep  up  our  strengths  in  France.  L.  G.  and  Milner  were  at 
Criccieth  together,  and  that  night  came  a  wire  from  Milner 
to  cancel  the  orders  to  Haig.  What  I  fear  is  that  L.  G.  may 
intend  to  camouflage  his  weakness  and  keep  up  the  old 


1918]    CLEMENCEAU'S  POSITION  ASSURED     359 

number  of  divisions  at  reduced  strengths,  a  course  which 
would  be  fatal.     I  shall  see  when  I  get  out  to  France  how 
things  stand.    I  am  told  that  we  are  nearly  up  to  strength  but 
that  there  are  no  more  drafts  except  the  1  Si-year-old  boys 
and  the  recovered  wounded,  and  that  next  month  there  will 
be  no  drafts  to  send  owing  to  the  enormous  requirements 
of  the  Air  Service,  especially  for  the  Independent  Air  Force. 
In  the  evening  Pernot  dined  with  me  at  the  N.  and  M.     We 
had  a  good  talk.     Pernot  is  now  half  at  the  Commerce  Minis- 
try and  half  with  General  Belin  at  Versailles.     He  considers 
Clemenceau  to  be  now  in  a  very  strong  position  and  that  he 
will  remain  till  the  end  of  the  war.     He  thinks  that  Foch 
means  to  worry  the  enemy  on  the  present  lines  for  the  next 
three  months,  but  not  to  commit  himself  to  a  serious  offensive, 
though  he  keeps  the  Boche  under  a  continual  menace  of  it. 
Pernot  tliinks  that  our  assurances  to  the  Czecho-Slovaks 
went  beyond  their  desires,  which  look  to  a  Confederation 
under  Austria  and  not  to  independence.     Pernot  is  of  my 
opinion  that  Germany  will  eventually  swallow  a  packet  of 
potty  states,  and  he  does  not  like  an  undertaking  which  we 
ma}T  find  difficult  to  carry  out.     He  would  have  preferred  for 
us  to  have   acknowledged  the  Czechs  as  belligerents.     He 
thinks  that  the  Poles  on  one  side  and  the  Czecho-Slovaks  and 
Jugo-Slavs  on  the  other  will  always  be  antagonistic,  and 
-  ivs  that  we  are  practically  following  the  German  plan  of 
dismembering  Austria  and  so  playing  the  German  game. 
He  Buppoees  that  Italy  has  been  for  much  in  this  policy,  and 
thinks  that  Italy  and  Austria  might  have  reached  an  agree- 
ment.    Pernot  will  bo  back  in  Paris  next  Sunday,  and  we 
agree  to  meet  and  talk  again. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 
AUGUST  AND  SEPTEMBER  1918 

Journey  to  France— Major- General  Salmond  on  Air  Force  questions 
— To  G.H.Q.  at  Roulers — Infantry  strengths  the  main  anxiety — 
Our  attacks  doing  well — Value  of  our  artillery — Visits  to  Sir  Henry 
Home  and  Sir  Julian  Byng — Conversation  with  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson 
— The  German  Armies  now  in  front  of  us — A  conversation  in  Paris 
over  politico-military  happenings — Machines  versus  Men — At  Marshal 
Foch's  Headquarters — The  Marshal  on  the  course  of  operations — His 
views  of  things  needed — The  Marshal's  manner  when  in  a  chaffing 
mood — To  Provins,  the  French  G.Q.G. — Conversation  at  lunch — 
General  Petain's  difficulties — His  views  of  the  situation — Paris  gossip 
— Jewish  influence — A  fairy  story — A  conversation  on  art — M. 
Berthelot  at  Baron  Maurice  Rothschild's. 

Thursday,  Aug.  29.  Left  Charing  Cross  3.15  p.m.  Train 
less  full  than  usual.  A  perfect  crossing.  We  were  well 
looked  after  by  destroyers,  a  small  dirigible,  and  aeroplanes. 
Met  Russell,  our  former  military  attache  at  Berlin.  He  has 
never  been  employed  where  his  special  knowledge  could  have 
been  of  use.  Dined  at  the  station  buffet  with  Haig-Bovie 
of  the  Worcesters  who  was  sent  to  fetch  me,  and  then 
motored  on  at  about  9.30  p.m.  to  the  guest-house  at  Trame- 
court  where  the  King  recently  stayed.  The  car  went  badly. 
Boulogne,  like  Calais,  has  been  much  bombed  lately.  It  was 
pitch  dark,  and  we  had  to  come  through  without  our  lights. 
At  the  chateau  I  found  Captain  Scott,  a  former  officer  of  the 
Dogras,  in  charge  with  Townroe,  Haig-Bovie,  and  Thompson. 
At  night  the  Boches  were  busy  bombing.  One  tremendous 
explosion  like  an  earthquake  and  another  closer  made  the 
chateau  rock. 

Friday,  Aug.  30.     A  fine  morning.     The  air  filled  with 
the  droning  of  our  aircraft  as  they  swarmed  off  towards  the 

360 


1918]         SALMOND  AXD  THE  AIR  FORCE       361 

rising  siin.  Alter  a  long  delay  at  the  G.S.  Censorship  and 
Publicitj*  office  I  went  on  to  see  Major-General  Salmond.  who 
has  taken  Trenchard's  place  at  the  head  of  the  Air  Force  in 
France.  Found  him  at  St.  Andre  aux  Bois,  the  old  R.A.F. 
H.Q.  of  1917.  The  house  was  gutted  by  fire  at  the  end  of 
last  year,  but  huts  have  been  built  with  sandbag  protection 
round  the  lower  parts.  The  locality  is  fairly  well  concealed 
by  the  woods  round,  and  is  reported  to  be  difficult  to  see  from 
the  air.  Salmond,  with  whom  I  have  not  had  a  long  talk 
before,  seems  a  cool  clear-headed  man.  He  says  that  we 
have  80  squadrons  under  him,  of  19  to  25  machines  each, 
total  1800  aeroplanes.  The  French  have  2500,  making 
4300  between  us.  The  Boches  have  2800  nominally,  but 
Salmond  thinks  them  to  be  much  below  their  proper 
establishment. 

This  is,  of  course,  on  the  Western  battle  front  alone. 
Salmond  is  oppressed  by  two  anxieties.  First,  the  Eastern 
front  and  home  defence  eat  up  from  one-third  to  a 
quarter  of  our  Air  resources.  But  even  more  serious  is 
the  drain  caused  by  the  I.A.F.  (Independent  Air  Force). 
This  force  profits  by  Trenchard's  strong  individuality 
and  enthusiasm,  and  it  is  in  the  extraordinary  position 
of  being  '  independent  '  and  of  receiving  orders  from  our 
Air  Board.  Consequently  it  is  the  pet  child,  and  this 
independence  of  all  control  by  Foch,  Haig,  or  Salmond 
is  naturally  resented  as  it  is  against  common  sense. 
Salmond  says  that  the  policy  is  to  keep  up  his  present  superi- 
ority, but  it  is  not  much,  and  is  mainly  due  to  the  fighting 
spirit  of  his  men.  He  is  short  of  night  bombers,  of  which  ho 
has  only  four  squadrons,  and  has  only  one  night-fighting 
squadron.  The  Boches  raid  us  hard  and  do  much  harm  ; 
also  8.  think-  thai  had  he  T.'s  bombers  he  could  have  made 
August  8  to  10  a  Boche  rout  this  year.  He  is  anxious  about 
next  April,  because  so  much  of  the  Air  Board's  energy  is 
)_"-iiiLr  into  the  I.A.F.  and  the  luxury  of  raiding  Germany. 
The  machines  to  raid  lOssen  and  Berlin  are  soon  coming  on, 
but  at  present  T.'s  machines  are  only  short-ranging.  S.  is 
sure  (hat  T.  in  his  heart  knows  that  the  policy  of  concentrat- 


362    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

ing  on  the  military  objects  of  the  battle  front  must  be  the 
correct  one,  but  he  floods  the  Air  Board  with  his  views,  and 
Sykes  does  not  know  enough  of  our  position  in  France  to 
guide  the  Board,  though  S.  says  that  Weir  is  doing  well  and 
has  plenty  of  imagination.  I  asked  whether  the  I.A.F.  had 
not  caused  the  Huns  to  keep  squadrons  for  defence,  and 
found  that  only  two  flights  of  14  machines  in  all  had  at 
present  been  identified  as  detached  from  the  front  on  this 
duty.     We  have  over  20  squadrons  in  England. 

I  asked  about  types  of  machines  and  whether  S.  was  satisfied. 
He  said  that  the  Huns  had  a  new  fighting  one-seater  which 
soared  over  ours  for  swagger,  but  had  not  attacked  yet ;  also 
a  better  biplane  than  the  Fokker,  and  another  type  which 
climbed  to  heaven  very  fast.  He  did  not  know  their  arma- 
ment but  had  warned  the  Air  Board  that  they  must  be  busy. 
The  main  thing,  however,  was  for  the  Board  to  assure  a  good 
supply  of  proved  successful  types,  and  best  was  often  the 
enemy  of  good.  Our  best  fighting  one-seater  could  now  do 
140  miles  an  hour  at  10,000  feet,  and  those  I  saw  in  the  air 
were  a  great  improvement  upon  those  of  a  year  ago.  The 
prisoners  stated  that  against  low-flying  aeroplanes  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  re-form  beaten  troops.  Our  planes 
were  coming  on  with  wireless  telephony,  which  is  already 
being  used  from  plane  to  plane  and  from  planes  to  ground 
and  is  proving  most  valuable.  The  co-operation  of  planes 
and  guns  and  tanks  was  now  very  good.  The  enemy  could 
scarcely  make  a  movement  without  some  slow  old  observa- 
tion plane  of  ours  calling  up  the  fighting  planes,  which  were 
on  to  the  enemy  in  a  flash.  S.  had  42  squadrons  of  planes 
in  the  August  8th  battle.  But,  as  he  truly  says,  the  front 
was  short,  and  we  must  contemplate  an  attack  on  our  whole 
front  when  the  Air  Force  butter  will  be  spread  too  thinly. 
S.  thinks  that  other  folk  do  not  attack  like  our  boys.  He  has 
two  squadrons  of  Americans  training  with  him,  and  has  been 
much  helped  by  the  15,000  American  mechanics  who  came 
to  England.  He  agrees  that  the  Liberty  engine  is  coming 
right,  butMoes  not  think  that  the  Yanks  can  do  much  in  the 
air  for  some  time. 


1918]  LAWRENCE  AT  ROULERS  363 

I  saw  a  few  of  Trenchard's  old  subordinates,  and  then 
motored  on  to  Brimshautpre  to  lunch  with  the  American 
Major  Robert  Bacon,  with  whom  I  had  a  good  talk  over 
affairs.  He  has  arranged  for  me  to  go  to  Chaumont,  but  I 
have  to  obtain  the  approval  of  the  French  in  Paris.  He 
kindly  asked  me  to  go  with  him  to-day  to  a  division  of  the  U.S. 
Army  on  the  Vesle,  but  it  did  not  suit  my  other  plans.  Bacon 
much  regrets  that  only  two  divisions  are  left  with  us  in  the 
north.  Pershing  now  has  nearly  21  divisions  in  the  east  of 
France,  and  all  accounts  agree  that  he  is  contemplating  an 
operation.  But  date  and  place  are  properly  kept  secret. 
Bacon  thinks  that  all  the  various  criticisms  of  American 
troops  have  now  been  satisfactorily  answered.  The  last 
criticism  was  that  their  staff  was  not  good  enough,  but  at 
Chateau-Thierry  the  staff  worked  well  and  Bacon  thought 
that  the  Americans  would  soon  be  able  to  do  all  that  the 
others  could  do.  Bacon  is  getting  over  his  accident,  but  has 
temporarily  spoilt  his  looks. 

Motored  on  to  advanced  G.H.Q.,  which  are  in  a  railway 
station  at  Roulers.  Most  inconvenient,  very  hot,  and  the 
noise  of  trains  passing  murders  sleep  and  prevents  telephon- 
ing. I  had  come  to  see  Bertie  Lawrence,  Haig's  new  Chief 
of  Staff,  and  we  had  a  long  talk  and  then  tea  in  the  dining- 
car  with  Curly  Birch  the  C.R.A.  and  Alan  Fletcher.  L. 
told  me  that  we  had  had  80,000  casualties  since  August  8, 
but  had  taken  50,000  prisoners  and  700  guns.  The  Boches 
were  undoubtedly  weak  in  numbers  and  much  depressed. 
He  put  the  Boche  battalion  strength  at  500  and  the  trench 
strength  at  250  only.  But  our  great  difficulty  was  also 
infantry  strengths.  The  last  orders  just  sent  to  Haig  were 
to  keep  up  the  present  number  of  divisions  as  long  as  possible, 
but  as  there  are  few  drafts  coming  this  will  not  be  possible 
for  long,  and  this  is  L.'s  greatest  anxiety.  L.  deplored  the 
want  of  somebody  to  judge  between  rival  claims  for  men. 
I  said  that  the  War  Cabinet  existed  to  carry  out  this  duty. 
L.  was  as  strong  about  the  I.A.F.  as  Salmond,  and  said  that 
it  required  not  only  men  and  machines  but  a  tremendous 
amount  of  labour  of  which  the  Army  was  very  short. 

Vol..  n.  2  B 


364    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

Haig's  reports  on  the  operations  of  last  March  to  July  went 
in  on  August  1  and  had  not  been  published.  Why  ?  I  said 
that  depended  upon  what  was  in  it.  L.  said  that  it  had  more 
or  less  covered  Gough  and  had  referred  to  the  extension  of  the 
front  and  the  reduction  of  establishments,  so  I  do  not  wonder 
that  it  is  not  very  popular  in  Downing  Street.  The  Despatch 
seems  to  be  long.   • 

The  attack  by  the  1st,  3rd,  and  4th  Armies  is  going  well. 
The  same  divisions  have  been  in  the  line  since  August  8 
without  relief.  They  are  rather  tired,  but  say  that  with 
two  days'  sleep  they  will  go  on,  and  L.  is  trying  to  get  them 
all  into  two  lines  of  which  each  will  do  three  days'  fight- 
ing and  then  have  three  days'  rest.  H.  has  still  14  divisions 
in  reserve,  including  G.H.Q.  and  Army  Reserves,  but  L.  is 
trying  to  increase  it  by  spreading  out  the  2nd  and  5th  Armies 
which  have  now  little  in  front  of  them,  and  by  adding  the 
divisions  saved  to  the  General  Reserve.  L.  strongly  approved, 
and  had  passed  on  to  Du  Cane,  my  remarks  in  the  M.P. 
about  the  expanding  front  of  the  4th  Army,  and  Foch  had 
then  put  in  Debeney's  Army  in  place  of  the  Canadians  who 
had  been  sent  to  Home.  Their  appearance  east  of  Arras 
stunned  the  Boches.  L.  did  not  think  that  we  should  do 
much  in  the  north  now,  i.e.  north  of  Lens,  except  to  occupy 
the  ground  from  which  the  Boche  is  retreating,  but  the  other 
three  Armies  are  coming  up  against  the  Drocourt-Queant 
line  and  will  try  to  break  it.  I  see  that  the  opinion  at  G.H.Q. 
is  that  we  ought  to  press  our  efforts  this  year  and  not  wait 
for  1919.  It  is  a  question  which  is  wisest,  but  the  view  is 
gaining  ground  that  the  Boche  is  really  cracking  and  that 
we  ought  not  to  give  him  time  to  recover  and  put  in  his  1920 
class.  I  shall  see  what  Pershing  thinks  of  it  all,  for  on  this 
much  rests. 

We  discussed  artillery  with  Curly  Birch.  I  asked  why 
practically  all  our  guns  were  outranged  by  the  Boche  guns 
of  similar  calibre,  and  Birch  put  it  down  to  the  better 
technical  efficiency  of  the  enemy,  specially  marked  in  his 
pointed  stream -line  shells  which  gave  a  much  increased 
range,  whereas  we  kept  the  old  shape  of  our  shells.     He 


1918]  A  VISIT  TO  HORNE  365 

did  not  think  that  the  Bodies  wore  increasing  their  charges 
or  wearing  ont  their  guns.  Birch  says  that  we  use  three 
or  four  times  more  shells  than  the  Bodies  and  fire  12,500 
tons  of  shells  daily.  Our  field  guns,  howitzers,  and  60 
pro.  go  right  up  after  the  infantry  attack,  and  come  into 
action  only  1000  yards  behind  the  filing  hue.  They  all 
Bay  that  Winston  has  been  very  good  and  helpful  in  the 
late  hard  times.  We  put  trains  into  Villers-Bretonneux  and 
Bapaume  with  ammunition  within  twenty-four  hours  of  their 
capture.  L.  was  very  modest  about  his  own  share  in  the 
late  successes,  and  praised  his  predecessor  Kiggell's  brain 
and  skill,  but  flunks  that  his  health  had  given  way  under 
the  strain.  Things  were  going  well,  but  all  depends  upon 
our  infantry  being  kept  up.  Birch  says  that  our  artillery 
are  now  from  30  to  40  per  cent,  of  our  fighting  strength. 

Had  a  wash  at  the  officers'  rest-house  at  St.  Pol,  and  went 
on  to  dine  with  Sir  Henry  Home  commanding  the  1st  Army. 
He  is  still  in  his  old  H.Q.  of  Ranchicourt,  where  I  have 
twice  visited  him  before.  Anderson  is  still  his  B.G.G.S., 
but  some  others  of  his  staff  have  gone.  He  showed  me  his 
progress  on  the  map,  and  during  dinner  reports  of  more 
successes  flowed  in.  He  is  pressing  his  attack,  and  is  just  up 
against  the  famous  Drocourt-Queant  line.  Home's  de- 
fences of  the  Viiny  Ridge  are  a  perfect  network  of  trenches 
and  switches.  The  photographs  of  them  must  have 
frightened  the  Boches,  and  on  all  this  front  there  are  some 
forty  miles  of  trenches  built  since  March  21  and  well  wired. 
The  Boches  lost  terribly  when  they  attacked  here  on  March 
28  and  daj  B  folio*  ing,  and  now  the  defence  is  much  stronger. 
Home's  first  line  of  defence  at  Vimy  is  near  the  foot  of  the 
tern  elope.  Bisguns  arc  behind  the  hill,  which  is  covered 
with  trenches.  1  was  amused  by  the  story  that  over  a 
Boche  dug-onl  was  a  notioe  Baying  that  '  We  fear  nothing 
but  (■•"!  and  our  own  Artillery.'  A  Boche  officer  declared 
ili;ii  when  his  men  knen  that  the  Canadians  were  in  front 
of  them  they  would  OOi  fight,  and  lie  shol  live  of  them  pour 
enarurager  les  autres.  Home  has  four  Army  Corps  engaged. 
The    Canadians    have    four    divisions.     Their    transfer    to 


366    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

Arras  from  Rawlinson's  right  was  a  remarkable  piece  of 
work.  Home  told  me  that  it  looked  at  one  time  as  if  the 
Boches  meant  to  turn  the  Vimy  Ridge  from  north  and 
south,  but  his  wing  divisions  held  firm,  and  the  attack  failed 
with  great  loss.  Motored  back  to  Tramecourt  and  slept  there. 
Saturday,  Aug.  31.  Motored  to  the  H.Q.  3rd  Army  of 
Sir  Julian  Byng  at  Vilers  l'Hopital.  Excellently  laid  out 
and  well  camouflaged,  defying  the  air  scouts.  Owing  to 
stupid  red-tape  arrangements  I  was  later  than  was  ex- 
pected, and  Byng  soon  had  to  go  off.  He  was  very  pleased 
with  his  Army.  They  had  forced  their  way  along  and 
kept  the  alignment.  He  joins  Rawly  a  little  north  of  the 
Somme,  and  is  advancing  towards  his  old  Cambrai  battle- 
field. But  he  warns  me  that  his  troops  are  a  little  tired 
and  that  there  is  a  limit  to  everything.  He  was  most 
concerned  about  infantry  strengths,  and  urges  the  strongest 
efforts  to  keep  them  up.  Motored  on  to  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinson's  4th  Army  H.Q.  at  a  chateau  some  fifteen 
miles  north  of  Amiens.  Lunched  with  him.  Lord  Derby, 
Davidson,  Montgomery,  Holman  and  several  others,  and 
had  a  talk  with  Rawly  alone  afterwards.  His  profit  and 
loss  account  since  August  8  shows  25,000  casualties,  25,000 
reinforcements,  and  22,000  prisoners.  I  forget  how  many 
captured  guns,  but  he  has  300  of  them  parked  east  of  Amiens. 
All  in  good  spirits,  increased  by  the  news  that  last  night  the 
Australians  attacked  and  carried  the  immensely  strong 
point  of  Mt.  St.  Quentin,  north  of  Peronne,  surrounded  by 
water  on  three  sides  and  a  most  dominating  position.  They 
seem  to  have  insinuated  themselves  across  the  Somme  at 
Clery  by  night,  then  crawled  through  the  wire,  and  turned 
the  hill  from  the  south,  finally  rushing  it  and  taking  1500 
prisoners  from  the  German  Guard.  A  most  brilliant  and 
remarkable  feat.  This  is  the  hill  which  I  examined  last 
year  when  the  Boches  retired  from  it.  Lord  French  had 
always  told  me  that  it  completely  commanded  all  this  part 
of  the  country,  and  so  it  did.  The  French  were  incredulous 
to-day  when  we  reported  its  capture. 

The  Canal  line  to  the  south  is  now  outflanked,  and  there 


1918]  THE  GERMAN  ARMIES  367 

will  be  more  wailing  in  Bocheland.  I  thought  that  the 
Bodies  would  try  and  retake  Mt.  St.  Quentin,  but  Rawly 
said  that  he  could  now  sweep  it  with  his  guns  and  did  not 
think  they  would  succeed.  The  French  had  also  done  well 
in  the  south.  We  have  also  good  news  from  the  Lys  where 
the  Boches  are  still  going  back,  and  the  reoccupation  of 
Kenmiel  Hill  is  reported  but  not  yet  confirmed.  A  very 
good  day.  and  we  had  a  gay  luncheon.  I  find  Davidson 
very  strong  about  going  on  now,  as  was  Lawrence,  but 
Rawly  is  for  waiting  for  1919  and  the  other  half  of  the 
Americans.  All  agree  that  a  few  American  divisions  with 
us  now  to  push  the  advantages  gained  by  our  rather  tired 
troops  would  be  most  valuable.  Byng  also  said  to-day  that 
a  few  Americans  with  the  Belgians  would  sweep  the  north 
clear  as  there  are  few  Boches  there  now.  This  is  correct. 
Von  Armin's  4th  Army  has  only  13  divisions  now  in  the 
north,  Von  Quast's  6th  Army  on  its  left  has  only  11  divisions. 
The  mass  of  the  Germans  are  on  the  line  Arras-Craonne,  on 
which  stand  the  17th,  Otto  von  Below's  Army,  27  divisions  ; 
the  2nd  Army,  Von  der  Marwitz,  23  divisions ;  and  the  7th 
Army,  Von  Eberhardt,  of  20  divisions.  Total,  5  Armies  of 
117  divisions,  of  which  only  three  divisions  are  accounted  fit. 

In  all  there  are  only  197  German  and  4  Austrian  divisions 
in  the  West  excluding  cavalry.  The  others  have  been 
absorbed  to  replace  waste.  There  is  certainly  a  great 
opportunity  for  an  American  dash  in  the  east  of  France. 
By  the  way,  I  saw  photos  at  the  1st  Army  H.Q.  which  show 
that,  though  most  of  the  wire  of  the  Hindenburg  line  stands, 
the  trenches  have  not  all  been  well  kept  up. 

Motored  back  to  Paris  with  Lord  Derby  in  three  hours. 
Four  tyres  went  wrong  on  the  way.  We  came  by  Beauvais, 
a  charming  fine  of  country.  A  good  deal  of  talk.  He  was 
most  agreeable,  and  it  was  nice  of  him  to  remain  friends 
aft<  1  the  way  I  had  criticised  him  over  the  Robertson  affair. 
i  a  strong  admirer  of  Clemenceau's,  and  considers  that 

one  of  hifl  chief  duties  is  to  inspire  confidence  towards  Haig 
in  French  minds,  a  sound  but  not  enormously  large  view  of 
Ambassadorial  duties. 


368    THE  BKITISH  AND  FEENCH  FRONTS 

I  am  much  pleased  with  my  brief  visit.  Numbers  fairly 
maintained  at  present.  Horses  looking  well.  All  arms 
doing  fine.  Roads  in  good  order,  troops  well  clothed  and 
equipped,  all  spirits  very  good,  and  all  news  from  the 
German  side  most  favourable  for  us.  The  open  question 
is  whether  we  should  throw  for  a  big  stake  now  or  wait 
for  the  Americans,  and  I  must  find  out  the  views  of  Petain 
and  Pershing  before  forming  a  final  judgment.  ,  Dined 
at  the  Ritz.  Mrs.  Leeds  arriving  to-night  and  Le  Roy 
in  the  morning. 

Sunday,  Sept.  1.  Le  Roy  came  in  early  and  we  had  a 
talk.  He  is  leaving  next  month  on  account  of  his  wife's 
health.  Things  have  been  not  altogether  pleasant  since  I 
saw  Le  Roy  last.  Some  proposed  precautions  in  June  last 
for  the  eventual  evacuation  of  the  British  colony  in  case 
of  need  seem  to  have  infuriated  Clemenceau.  I  think  on 
the  whole  that  we  were  right  to  have  made  preparations, 
but  that  the  thing  would  have  been  done  better  by  word 
of  mouth  and  confidentially  between  the  civil  side  of  the 
Embassy  and  the  Quai  d'Orsay.  Clemenceau  said  to  have 
gone  as  far  as  to  have  demanded  Le  Roy's  recall,  and 
Derby  said  to  have  replied  that  if  Le  Roy  went  he,  Derby, 
would  go  too. 

Another  friend  tells  me  that  poor  Spiers  is  also  in  trouble. 
He  had  been  given  the  names  of  the  two  officers  whom 
Clemenceau  had  deputed  to  go  over  and  inquire  into  our 
effectives.  Spiers  naturally  reported  this  to  London.  Then 
at  Abbeville  L.  G.  is  said  to  have  got  up  and  asked  what  it 
meant.  Clemenceau,  in  the  interval,  had  thought  better  of 
it.  He  got  up  furious  and  asked  L.  G.  how  he  knew  about 
it,  and  when  L.  G.  said  how  he  knew,  Clemenceau  accused 
Spiers  of  keeping  watch  upon  him.  Then  afterwards 
Clemenceau  actually  sent  the  Roure  mission,  and  while  it 
gave  Clemenceau  no  satisfaction  it  upset  our  people. 

Laurance  Lyon  of  the  Outlook  sent  his  card  in.  He  is 
next  door  to  my  rooms  at  the  Ritz.  He  has  been  to  Spain. 
L.  found  Romanones  the  most  interesting  personality  in 
Spain,  but  R.'s  main  interest  was  about  L.  G.,  what  he  looked 


1918]  FOOTS  TASK  369 

like,  whether  he  was  witty,  etc.  L.  came  back  to  try  and 
induce  Pichon  to  give  the  Spaniards  Tangier,  believing  that 
the  Monarchy  will  fall  unless  they  get  paid  something  at  tho 
^Lttlenicnt.  I  don't  think  that  Lyon  can  have  had  anjr 
experience  of  dealing  with  the  French  over  territorial 
questions  !  Pichon  not  very  avenant  it  appears,  but  said 
that  the  question  was  not  yet  decided,  so  the  Spanish 
Pandora's  casket  still  has  hope  left  in  it.  L.  declares  that 
the  Spaniards  wish  the  Bodies  to  break  off  relations.  They 
have  just  sunk  two  more  Spanish  ships,  and  if  the  Spaniards 
seize  two  German  ships  to  make  good  there  will  be  a  fair 
chance  of  Spain  being  gratified  by  a  break.  L.  says  that  the 
Spaniards  have  made  400  million  sterling  out  of  the  war,  and 
are  busy  with  the  Germans  about  after-war  commerce.  I  re- 
marked that  these  arrangements  depended  on  the  settlement 
and  what  we  permitted  Germany  to  do.  L.  says  that 
(  lt.nienceau  is  removing  de  la  Panouse  to  vex  Cambon, 
and  sending  General  Corvisart  with  orders  to  be  very  stiff 
about  British  effectives.  We  had  some  chaff  over  the 
Outlook's  attacks  on  me. 

After  lunch  had  a  good  talk  with  X.,  one  of  the  best  in- 
formed men  in  France.  He  told  me  much  of  interest.  He 
could  not  say  who  planned  the  attack  of  July  18,  but  on 
the  L5th  Foch  learnt  by  accident  from  Fayolle  that  the 
attack  had  been  postponed  owing  to  the  German  passage 
of  the  Marne.  Foch  immediately  ordered  the  attack  to 
proceed  and  tore  up  the  counter-order.  The  affair  was 
planned  as  an  attack  whether  the  Boches  attacked  or  not. 
When  they  did,  it  became  a  counter-attack  and  was  most 
apropos.  Foch's  luck  was  then  well  in.  The  English 
< .  li.Q.  disbelieved  in  the  Boche  attack  even  up  to  the  night 
of  the  L 4th,  and  fearing  an  attack  in  the  north  they  wrote 
to  ask  for  a  return  oi  the  two  divisions  lent,  'forthwith.' 
Thifi  reached  Foch,  who  gave  it  to  Wcygand  who  tore  it  up. 
Foch  ha<l  taken  up  his  command  en  pUine  difOUU.  His 
k  was  easy  wilh  BUOOeSfl  but  might  he  impossible  with 
failure.  Our  War  Cabinet  had  written  to  suggest  that  Pooh 
should  either  have  an  ini<  1   Allied  stall  or  should  take  over 


370    THE  BKITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

our  G.H.Q.  en  bloc,  preferring  the  last  solution.     Foch  had 
replied  that  an  inter- Allied  Staff  was  impossible,  and  only 
agreed  to  take  over  the  British  services  de  Varriere  so  far  as  this 
affected  general  Allied  interests.    I  said  that  I  could  not  see 
where  the  dividing  line  could  be  drawn.     In  effect,  said  X., 
after  the  principle  had  been  agreed  upon  Foch  drafted  a 
decret  conformably,  whereupon  both  English  and  Americans 
objected  to  it  and  howled,  and  so  no  decret  has  yet  appeared. 
Foch's  way  of  working  was  entirely  antagonistic  to  his 
having  an  inter- Allied  staff.     He  walks  about,  studies  the 
map,  smokes  a  cigar,  looks  out  of  the  window,  and  then 
suddenly  calls  for  Weygand,  from  whom  he  is  inseparable, 
gives  him  some  rapid  indications  and  says  '  etudiez  cela.' 
Away  goes  Weygand  to  etudier  it,  and  comes  back  later 
with  the  result,  which  Foch  issues  as  directives  to  Allied 
Commanders.      Foch  never  consults  the  foreign  missions 
about  strategy  or  anything,  except  how  best  to  get  things 
done  by  the  various  Allied  Armies.     He  is  on  the  best  of 
terms  with  Haig.     Clemenceau  and  L.  G.  are  said  to  be 
now  so  antagonistic  that  people's  main  efforts  are  directed 
to  prevent  them  from  meeting  at  all.     The  delay  in  the 
next  meeting  of  the  so-called  Supreme  War  Council  is  due 
to  this  cause.     X.  mentioned  various  idiotic  opinions  which 
have  reached  our  War  Cabinet,  including  the  advice  that 
we  could  not  win  this  war  and  so  should  place  ourselves  in 
the  best  position  to  defend  India  in  the  next  war  !     This 
advice  was  given  on  July  25  !  ! 

The  greatest  trouble  of  all  was  about  the  effectives  of 
the  British  Armies.  We  compared  notes  of  our  know- 
ledge about  this  matter  and  about  Roure's  mission.  We 
agreed  that  all  was  well  everywhere  except  that  we  had 
an  unconsciously  defeatist  War  Cabinet.  What  was  to 
be  done  ?  I  thought  that  it  was  really  wicked  that  with 
our  population  we  could  not  keep  up  60  divisions,  when 
France  had  100  and  America  was  going  to  give  80, 
each  of  double  the  strength  of  ours.  H.  Wilson,  says  X., 
tells  Foch  that  we  cannot,  i.e.  that  L.  G.  will  not,  and  has 
asked  whether  we  cannot  send  tanks  to  replace  divisions,  a 


1918]       THE  GENERAL  OF  THE  JESUITS        371 

solution  at  which  Foch  scoffs.  L.  G.  is  all  for  England 
providing  the  machines  of  war  and  little  else,  but  X.  and  I 
agree  that  Foch  and  all  the  Generals  demand  60  divisions, 
and  X.  fears  that  if  L.  G.  rats,  Clemenceau  will  one  day 
say  to  the  War  Council  that  Foch  refuses  to  go  on.  Clemen- 
ceau has  already  made  some  extremely  acrimonious  remarks 
on  the  subject.  Rather  a  difference  between  this  and  the 
grandiloquent  public  flatteries  which  reach  our  Ministers 
and  Generals  !  X.  and  I  only  differ  in  his  thinking  that 
an  explosion  must  be  avoided  at  all  costs,  whereas  I  think 
it  had  better  come  now  to  clear  the  air.  X.  finds  Milner 
still  very  unconvinced  that  we  can  win  and  declaring 
that  if  we  do  not  win  next  year  we  never  shall.  X.  thinks 
that  our  mission  with  Foch  has  a  hard  task,  as  it  is  considered 
too  French  at  G.H.Q.  because  it  tries  to  support  Foch.  X. 
would  not  have  it  that  the  G.H.Q.  was  now  only  a  post 
office  and  that  the  Army  Commanders  did  the  fighting,  as 
I  suggested.  He  thought  that  Haig,  Pershing,  or  Petain 
could  make  or  mar  an  operation.  I  said  that  I  thought 
that  I  had  better  see  Foch  to  have  his  first-hand  opinion 
on  really  vital  matters,  and  later  I  received  a  telephone 
message  that  Foch  would  see  me  on  Tuesday. 

Later  in  the  day  the  young  Count  de  Salis  came  to  talk 
with  me  about  Rome  and  the  Vatican,  where  his  father  is 
our  representative.  I  told  him  that  I  wished  to  see  Cardinal 
Gasparri,  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  State,  Cardinal  Gasquet, 
and  the  latter's  secretary,  Father  Philip  Langdon.  I  also 
suggested  some  names  of  leading  journalists,  but  de  Salis 
did  not  know  them.  If  I  went  to  Switzerland  I  proposed 
to  see  Ledochowsky,  the  General  of  the  Jesuits.  De  Salis 
thought  all  this  good.  Ledochowsky  has  20,000  highly 
trained  J  (.-suits  under  him.  There  never  existed  a  better 
Intelligence  Service,  and  de  Salis  deplored  the  fact  that 
M.I.  (1)  had  not  the  Confessional  at  its  back  as  the  Jesuits 
had.  I  am  to  address  the  General  of  the  Jesuits  as  'Your 
Paternity.'  1  s;ii<l  that  it  reminded  me  of  Imckingham's 
famotlfl  aside  when  Charles  II.  in  a  Bpeeofa  B]X>ke  of  himself 

1  he  father  of  his  people 


372    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

Gasparri,  said  de  Salis,  is  the  best  informed  man  in 
Europe.  He  would  value  my  opinions  about  the  war,  as 
everything  that  our  people  tell  him  he  considers  to  be  told 
to  him  by  orders  of  our  Government.  He  would  question 
me  closely,  and  directly  I  left  he  would  recount  it  all  to 
the  Pope.  De  Salis  thought  that  Gasparri  would  probably 
be  the  next  Pope.  He  was  a  genial  sort  of  Cure,  easy  to 
talk  to,  liberal  in  ideas,  and  of  great  force  of  character. 
Gasquet  was  English  and  very  pro-English.  If  I  could 
get  Philip  Langdon  to  talk  to  me  about  affairs  he  would  be 
good  value  as  he  knew  everything  about  politics,  including 
the  Quirinal  side.  I  asked  if  the  Italians  would  have  me 
followed.  De  Salis  said  yes,  so  I  decided  to  tell  them  at 
the  Ministries  that  I  was  going  to  see  what  the  Vatican 
knew. 

Saw  Simon  Lovat,  Lady  Rosemary  Leveson-Gower, 
and  some  others.  Dined  with  the  Comtesse  X.,  who  was 
most  amusing  about  '  l'homme  aux  colliers  de  perles  '  who 
had  been  after  her  £40,000  necklace.  She  had  also  saved 
a  bonne  bourgeoise,  the  wife  of  a  jeweller  in  the  Rue  de  la 
Paix,  and  also  the  possessor  of  a  fine  necklace,  from  the 
designs  of  this  clever  good-looking  scamp  whose  modus 
operandi  is  to  make  love  to  the  ladies  who  own  pearls,  to 
compromise  them  so  that  they  dare  bring  no  action,  and 
then  to  steal  their  pearls  on  pretence  of  placing  them  in 
a  safe.  His  dossier  is  awful  and  he  has  served  many 
sentences,  going  under  a  variety  of  names.  He  is  young, 
agreeable,  educated,  and  has  all  the  arts.  I  saw  Wilton 
to-day.  He  is  going  to  Siberia  via  London.  He  was  most 
sarcastic  about  Murmansk  and  is  all  for  breaking  up 
Austria.  Met  Boni  de  Castellane,  who  is  quite  the  reverse. 
I  am  very  anxious  about  our  Austrian  policy,  which 
appears  to  aim  at  creating  a  lot  of  weak  states  which  will 
be  swallowed  by  Germany  directly  we  clear  out.  Where 
will  then  be  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe  ? 

Monday,  Sept.  2.  Wrote  in  the  morning.  Lunched 
with  a  friend,  General  Ferry,  and  J.  de  S.  at  Henri's.  In 
the  afternoon  saw  Colonel  Herscher,  Clemenceau's  secretary, 


1918]  M.  MANDEL  373 

and  found  him  very  embittered  on  account  of  the  effectives 
question.  He  was  also  most  sarcastic  about  Z.  We  dis- 
cussed these  matters  at  some  length,  and  I  should  not  be 
surprised  were  a  joint  Franco-American  demand  to  reach 
our  Cabinet  requesting  them  to  give  assurances  that  our 
Ariny  would  be  maintained.  H.  says  that  the  Americans 
are  getting  wind  of  L.  G.'s  failure  to  make  provision  for 
next  year,  and  are  feeling  rather  badly  about  it.  Herscher 
will  make  arrangements  for  me  to  visit  Petain  and  to  see 
CSemenceau.  Later  saw  31.  Mendel,  Secretaire  du  President 
du  C011st.il.  A  young  man  of  about  thirty,  shortish,  slight, 
clean-shaved,  a  Jew,  thin  eager  face,  very  quick  and  in- 
telligent, and  as  sharp  as  a  needle.  After  we  had  discussed 
British  effectives  and  Mandel  had  given  me  his  opinion 
that  we  were  not  playing  the  game,  we  had  a  long  con- 
fidential talk  about  affairs. 

Dined  with  Mrs.  Leeds  in  her  rooms.  We  had  a  long 
talk  and  told  each  other  our  respective  experiences  since 
we  last  met.  She  comes  to  Kenwood  for  the  winter.  She 
told  me  the  whole  story  of  what  had  happened  during  her 
long  visit  to  Switzerland. 

Tuesday,  Sept.  3.  Started  9.15  for  Foch's  quarters 
at  Bombon,  about  1|  hours'  motoring  from  Paris.  Went 
first  to  Johnny  Du  Cane's  chateau  which  is  a  few  minutes' 
distance  and  had  a  talk.  Then  went  on  to  Foch's 
idquarters,  which  are  well  and  comfortably  housed  in 
a  large  stone  and  red-brick  chateau  with  two  projecting 
wings.  The  grounds  seem  extensive,  and  there  are  some 
good  outbuildings  and  an  entrance  through  an  archway. 
The  quiet  is  profound,  and  large  prospects  help  large  views. 
The  telegraph  and  telephone  communications  arc  of  course 
very  perfect.     There  is  a  series  of   Large   rooms  on  the 

ground    floor   which    open    into   each   Other   and    make   good 

offices.     Ai  one  end  is  the  dining-room.     In  the  centre  a 

\.i\   1  mi,  where  Foch's  knee-hole  writing  table  ii 

in  tin-  centre  and  tin-  other  farmture  is  good.  There  is  some 
iin.  ■  try,  and  I  noticed  some  interesting  portraits. 
Better  furnished  than  almost  an}  of  the  chateaux  in  Northern 


374    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

France  which  our  generals  use,  and  in  better  style.  On 
the  other  side  of  Foch's  room  is  Weygand's  office,  in  which 
Weygand  and  another  officer  sit.  Beyond  again  are 
offices.  Many  maps  are  on  the  walls  and  on  the  tables, 
all  kept  up  to  date  to  show  the  movements  of  our  Armies 
from  the  coast  to  Rheims.  In  one  large  alcove  in  Weygand's 
room  the  contents  are  concealed  by  curtains.  Perhaps 
here  are  the  actual  positions  of  our  troops,  or  the  situation 
east  of  Rheims  which  I  did  not  observe  on  the  other  maps. 
Foch  greeted  me  cordially.  We  had  an  hour's  talk,  and 
then  I  lunched  with  him  at  12  and  stayed  on  till  1.30.  He 
has  twenty  officers  for  his  whole  directing  staff,  and  at  lunch 
were  only  four  officers  besides  Foch  and  me.  We  had 
much  chaff  at  lunch  and  told  good  stories.  Foch's  mess 
is  the  most  informal  and  agreeable  of  all  the  French  generals' 
messes  except  Gouraud's. 

Foch  was  looking  well  and  was  in  great  form.  He 
was  plainly  dressed  in  blue,  with  brown  gaiters  and 
boots,  and  no  spurs  or  decorations.  He  did  most  of  the 
talking,  and  we  occasionally  rose  to  consult  the  maps. 
He  has  got  his  battle  going  on  a  front  of  200  kilometres, 
and  said  that  it  would  last  another  six  weeks  at  least,  and 
that  while  he  did  not  intend  to  commit  imprudences,  he 
did  not  intend  to  let  the  enemy  alone,  but  to  go  on  hitting 
him.  Home  yesterday  broke  the  Drocourt-Queant  line  on 
a  broad  front,  and  has  taken  12,000  more  prisoners  to  add 
to  the  128,000  which  the  Allies  have  taken  since  July  15, 
of  which  half  have  been  taken  by  us.  Foch  described 
how  impressed  one  of  his  officers  was  at  this  fight  to  see 
31  battalions  of  some  16  regiments  of  7  German  divisions 
all  retreating  like  a  mob  in  disorder.  Foch  means  to  keep 
them  on  the  run.  Their  next  line  of  defence  in  front  of 
Byng  and  Home  is  the  Canal  du  Nord,  but  no  concrete  or 
pill-boxes  are  there,  and  after  that  there  is  nothing  prepared 
for  defence  till  the  Germans  get  back  to  the  Meuse,  except 
Lille,  which  may  be  turned.  Foch  and  Weygand  think  the 
German  Armies  much  demoralised  and  the  German  people 
disillusioned.     Only   the   artillery   and   a   part  —  as    Foch 


1918]        A  CONVERSATION  WITH  FOCH  375 

expressly  said — of  the  machine  gunners  are  reported  to  be 
fighting  well.  The  loss  of  over  2000  guns,  13,000  machine 
guns,  and  1000  trench  mortars  since  July  IS  must  affect 
the  enemy  seriously.  He  is  not  righting  as  he  used  to  fight. 
He  has  no  more  reserves  at  disposal  than  the  French  Army 
alone.  Foch  declares  that  he,  Foch,  has  no  plan  and  is 
merely  harrying  the  eneni}-,  but  I  suppose  that  this  is  only 
a  pose  because  Foch  does  not  want  to  talk  of  his  plans,  and 
wisely.  He  said  nothing  about  the  Americans  except  that 
they  were  good  troops  and  that  one  of  the  two  Yankee 
divisions  in  the  north  was  on  the  march  to  join  Byng. 
Mangin  with  9  divisions  in  first  fine  and  5  in  second  fine  was 
being  hotly  attacked  N.W.  of  Soissons,  but  was  getting  on 
well.  It  is  a  warm  corner.  Everybody  in  Foch's  view  is 
always  getting  on  well.  He  is  an  invincible  optimist.  I 
have  discovered  that  the  chief  actors  in  a  war  are  all  and 
always  optimists,  and  the  chief  spectators  the  reverse. 

We  went  into  the  question  of  our  effectives,  and  Foch  said 
that  if  we  did  not  keep  them  up  he  should  have  to  refuse 
to  be  responsible  for  our  troops.  All  he  asked  was  that  we 
should  keep  up  our  60  divisions  during  1919.  He  intended 
to  make  his  great  effort  by  April  1.  The  Americans  pro- 
mised well  with  their  80  strong  divisions.  The  French  had 
104  divisions  each  of  9  battalions.  He  could  not  feel  that 
we  were  doing  our  best  in  proposing  to  give  only  180,000 
men  to  the  Army  in  1919  out  of  700,000  A  men  who  would 
be  available  next  year.1  This  would  only  give  15,000  men 
a  month,  and  it  would  only  meet  the  ordinary  waste  and  not 
the  casualties  of  a  period  of  great  battles.  He  wished  us 
all  to  make  the  maximum  effort  by  April  1919,  and  declared 
that  it  would  be  the  cheapest  thing  to  do  as  he  wished  to 
finish  the  war.  Above  all  he  wished  the  old  and  well- 
tried  Armies  of  England  and  France  to  be  at  full  strength. 
Foch  said  he  did  not  care  if  our  units  were  not  quite 
full  during  the  winter  so  long  as  all  was  ready  by  April  1 
next. 

He  knew  that  our  men  were  allocated  to  mines,  agriculture, 

1  Th"  Ifanhal  did  not  toll  mo  whonco  theso  BgtWM  came. 


376    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

shipbuilding  trades,  the  navy,  tanks,  and  bombing  squadrons 
in  great  profusion,  and  that  there  were  many  claimants. 
The  Army  with  us  came  last,  and  the  infantry  last  in  the 
Army.  We  must  reverse  this  process  if  we  wished  to  win  the 
war.  The  infantry  needed  guns,  tanks,  and  aeroplanes,  but 
these  did  not  win  battles  and  were  only  accessories.  It  was 
the  infantry  that  won  battles,  and  when  men  were  short  the 
greatest  economies  should  be  practised  in  other  demands  for 
man-power,  and  such  things  as  tanks  and  bombing  squadrons 
should  be  provided  on  a  moderate  scale.  It  was  an  idea  of 
amateurs  that  tanks  and  aeroplanes  could  win  a  war.  He 
went  further  and  said  that  every  use  of  man -power  which 
looked  beyond  the  autumn  of  1919  should  be  reviewed  and 
restricted.  It  was  no  good  building  ships  for  1920,  and  even 
munitions  output  might  be  moderated.  It  was  this  large 
view  which  we  had  not  understood.  He  asked  me  to  pro- 
pagate these  views  without  mentioning  that  they  came  from 
him,  and  I  said  that  this  was  easy  to  do  as  I  thoroughly 
shared  them.  We  considered  our  War  Cabinet  unconsciously 
defeatist  in  opposing  these  views.  The  Cabinet  appeared 
to  be  still  ruled  by  amateurs,  who  had  caused  our  defeats 
last  spring.  Foch  thought  L.  G.  intelligent,  and  that  there 
was  no  one  to  replace  him.  He  thought  that  he  might  be 
convinced  but  was  not  sure.  Our  mission  at  G.Q.G.A.  (allie) 
under  Du  Cane  was  perfect  and  was  doing  well.  He  had 
American  and  Italian  missions  here  also.  He  sent  directives, 
sometimes  before  seeing  Commanders  and  sometimes  after- 
wards. He  had  held  only  one  conference  of  all  the  Com- 
manders, and  distance  did  not  facilitate  the  meetings. 

We  agreed  that  no  peace  talk  should  be  indulged  in.  I 
said  that  I  hoped  a  Boche  flag  of  truce,  trumpeter,  and  the 
orthodox  paraphernalia  would  one  day  be  passed  on  blind- 
folded to  Foch's  Headquarters.  '  I  shall  give  them  a  kick,' 
said  Foch,  '  and  say  that  I  will  consider  the  matter  when  they 
are  out  of  France  and  Belgium  and  across  the  Rhine. 
But  it  will  only  be  a  promise  to  consider  the  matter,'  he 
added,  smiling. 

Foch  did  not  think  that  the  Austrians  would  again  attack. 


19181  HOW  FOCH  TALKS  377 

Diaz,  who  had  just  left  Foch.  did  not  dare  to  attack,  though 
Afriago  was  very  tempting.  Foch  had  no  time  to  go  to  Italy, 
as  he  was  too  busy  here  and  the  journey  took  too  long.  I 
said  that  if  he  pushed  Diaz  on,  the  righting  might  become 
loose  and  then  anything  might  happen.  I  preferred  to  see 
the  Italians  on  the  safe  side  of  the  river,  and  I  only  wanted 
them  to  hold  the  Austrians  in  place. 

Foch  talks  fast,  getting  up  and  walking  about,  -with  ener- 
getic expressions.  When  he  is  in  a  chaffing  mood  he  speaks 
in  short  sentences,  with  energetic  gestures  to  suit  his  words. 
'  Je  les  attaque  .  .  .  Bon.  Je  dis,  allez  a  la  bataille.  Tout 
le  monde  va  a  la  bataille.  Bon  .  .  .  Je  ne  les  lache  pas, 
les  Boches.  Done,  ils  ne  sont  pas  laches.  Bon.  lis  ne 
savent  que  faire.  Moi,  je  sais.  Je  n'ai  pas  de  plan.  J'at- 
tends  les  evenements.  Bon.  Vient  l'evenement.  Je  l'ex- 
ploite.  Ils  sont  poursuivis  l'epee  dans  les  reins.  Bon.  Ils 
cedent.  Le  champ  de  bataille  s'elargit.  Bon.  Ils  sont 
attaques  partout.  Ca  chauffe.  Bon.  Je  continue.  Je  les 
pousse.  On  tape  partout.  Cela  continuera  pendant  six 
semaines.  Je  ne  ferai  pas  de  betises.  Mais  je  les  pousse. 
A  la  fin  ils  sont  extenues.  Bon.  On  prend  prisonniers  et 
canons.  Bon.  On  poursuit  avec  la  baionnette.  Tic  !  (He 
makes  a  lunge  at  an  imaginary  Boche.)  On  les  tue.  Toe  ! 
(He  pretends  to  fire  at  a  Boche.)  Ils  sont  des£quilibres. 
L  Allemagne  est  desillusionnee.  Ils  n'ont  que  la  elasse  de 
1920.  Bon.  Ils  sont  incorpores  le  15  septembre.  C'est 
tout.  350,0(>0  hommes  !  C'est  pen  .  .  .  Bon  ...  Ils  ne 
peuvent  pas  faire  plus  avant  le  printemps  prochain.  Alors 
je  suis  pret  avec  mes  troupes  en  haleine,  mes  Americains. 
Les  Anglais  ?  Dieu  sait !  C'est  le  moment  de  l'effort 
maximum.     Allons-y.     Bon  !  ' 

Foch  and  I  agreed  that  a  Franco-American  protest  was  the 

only  way  to  bring  L.  G.  to  terms  about  man -power.     He 

likes  Clemeneean    because  he  has  courage  and  dares.     He 

ed  me  uli.il   Robertson  was  doing,  and  whether  there  was 

any  ohance  "f  hi-  being  re-employed  in  i  brigfa  oapaoity.    1 

said  that  he  \v;i-  in  command  in  Gfoeal  Britain  and  in  reserve 
I'll  emergencies. 


378    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

Afterwards  I  returned  to  Du  Cane's  chateau,  and  found 
Lord  Reading  there  at  lunch .  Pleasant  as  always .  We  talked 
about  America.  They  were  all  out  for  the  war,  but  got  tired 
of  some  things  soon.  He  had  read  in  some  novel  the  advice 
of  a  sage  lady  to  her  son,  that  when  he  had  made  a  good 
impression  in  a  house  he  should  firmly  leave.  He  felt  that 
about  himself  and  America.  But  he  expressed  his  intention 
to  return.  He  went  off  to  see  Foch,  who  had  told  me  that 
he  would  talk  effectives  to  him  as  he  had  to  me. 

Our  Mission  hold  that  the  situation  has  completely 
changed,  and  that  people  ought  to  realise  it.  Peace 
through  victory  is  now  conceivable.  Returned  to  Paris 
in  the  evening. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  4.  Motored  to  Provins  to  lunch  with 
General  Petain  at  the  ungodly  hour  of  11.30  a.m.  We  flew 
in  a  French  military  car.  I  called  to  see  our  mission,  but 
Clive  was  away  and  I  only  saw  Skefnngton-Smyth.  He  had 
not  much  news.  Found  Petain  at  a  smallish  house  with 
pretty  good  grounds  and  ponds  outside  the  town.  We  were 
fourteen  at  lunch,  several  general  officers  having  come  in. 
Freezing  formality  as  usual.  Petain  inspires  terror  except 
among  a  few  of  his  old  hands.  He  reminds  me  of  the 
average  Royal  Personage,  who  is  one  person  in  company  and 
another  when  alone.  The  penalty  of  grandeur  I  suppose. 
Among  the  Generals  was  General  Deville  commanding  the 
16th  Army  Corps.  In  1895  I  had  visited  the  camps  at 
Sathonay  near  Lyons  to  inspect  the  troops  preparing  for 
Madagascar,  and  General  Deville — we  were  both  Captains 
then — had  been  told  off  to  show  me  round.  I  had  apparently 
presented  him  with  my  favourite  Thornton  hunting-knife 
as  a  memento,  and  he  had  kept  it  with  my  card,  and  had  only 
learnt  recently  that  Captain  a  Court  and  Colonel  Repington 
were  one  and  the  same  person.  He  has  used  the  knife  ever 
since  !  I  had  quite  forgotten  the  incident  until  he  reminded 
me  of  it .  General  Anthoine  is  no  longer  with  Petain .  General 
Buat,  his  successor,  impressed  me  very  favourably.  As 
usual  no  one  addressed  Petain  unless  he  first  addressed  them, 
and  only  one  person  spoke  at  a  time.     Petain  told  me  that 


1918]  PLAIN'S  OPINIONS  379 

General  Corvisart,  who  is  coming  to  London  as  M.A.,  is  a  good 
officer  and  has  commanded  an  Army  Corps.  Some  one  told 
the  story  of  the  General  who  had  been  trepanned,  and  the 
doctor  had  apologised  to  him  for  forgetting  to  put  his  brains 
back.  The  officer  replied,  *  It  does  not  matter  as  I  am  a 
General  now.'  '  What  about  a  Marshal  ?  '  asked  some  one 
at  the  table.  The  allusion  was  obvious.  '  He  is  an  omni- 
potent being  above  criticism,'  said  Petain  drily,  and  the 
subject  immediately  dropped. 

After  lunch  the  others  left,  and  Petain  walked  with  me 
in  the  garden  and  talked.  He  said  that  I  had  correctly 
reproduced  in  the  Morning  Post  last  February  our  con- 
versation in  that  month,  and  that  my  fine  of  2500  francs 
had  all  his  sympathy.  Now  we  were  in  other  difficulties, 
and  his  view  was  that  as  I  had  rendered  the  greatest  services 
to  the  cause  before,  so  I  could  do  again.  We  went  into  the 
question  of  effectives,  on  which  he  completely  shares  Foch's 
views,  so  I  need  not  repeat  them.  I  said  that  I  would  do 
my  best. 

We  then  talked  of  the  difficult  days  of  the  spring  and  of 
Foch's  appointment.  I  told  P.  that  I  had  felt  it  my  duty 
to  support  any  French  General  elected  by  the  Allies,  and 
he  said  that  he  completely  approved  of  my  attitude,  which 
he  quite  understood,  and  that  he  had  adopted  the  same 
course  himself.  He  had  a  large  party  who  wished  to  support 
him  against  Foch,  but  he  had  insisted  that  they  should 
desist,  and  he  had  helped  Foch  in  every  way  in  his  power. 
It  was  easier  since  Foch  had  been  made  a  Marshal,  since  he 
now  no  longer  feared  Petain.  Foch,  said  Petain,  now  has 
a  position  of  great  authority,  though  it  depends  largely  on 
his  being  successful.  His  appointment  derived  from  the 
Allied  Governments,  and  not  from  the  French  alone.  This 
fact  gave  him  a  privileged  posilion.  and  things  were  going 
well.  How  did  the  machinery  of  the  Command  work  ?  I 
asked.  Who  initiated  a  plan,  who  prepared  the  movement  i 
Pooh  issu  d  the  directives.  Petain  issued  the  orders  of  move- 
ment when  the  plan  was  made,  as  did  Baigand  Pershing 
foi  their  troops,  but   Pershing  for  the  moment  was  under 

VOL.  II.  - ' 


38o    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

Petain  as  French  troops  were  involved  in  the  operation 
which  Pershing  was  about  to  attempt.  The  relations  of 
all  the  Allied  Commanders  were  now  excellent.  Petain 
had  a  great  respect  for  Pershing  and  said  that  he  had  a  will 
of  iron.  He  was  firmly  determined  from  the  first  to  unite 
the  American  Armies  under  his  command,  to  capture  Alsace 
and  Lorraine,  and  to  present  them  to  France  on  a  plate. 
The  present  operation  in  the  East  is  an  exercise  gallop 
for  the  Americans,  who  had  thirty  divisions  in  France, 
but  for  want  of  guns  and  for  other  reasons  only  some  fifteen 
were  fit  to  engage. 

I  asked  Petain  what  he  thought  of  the  American  Armies. 
He  said  that  he  thought  much  of  the  divisions.  They  were 
fine  men  with  great  dash,  but  the  higher  staffs  and  com- 
mands were  still  untried  and  the  American  Army  Corps 
organisation  was  clumsy.  If  military  exigencies  decided, 
the  American  divisions  would  be  distributed  amongst  the 
old  Armies,  and  then  we  could  knock  the  Germans  out  this 
year,  but  the  Americans  wanted  their  Armies  to  fight 
together  and  to  win  the  war  in  1919.  They  were  very 
determined  about  it,  and  there  was  nothing  more  to  be  said. 
If,  after  the  now  pending  operations,  Pershing  experienced 
the  sense  of  his  weakness  in  the  higher  posts,  the  arrange- 
ments could  be  altered  next  year.  I  said  that  there  was 
little  against  the  Americans  in  the  East  at  present  and  that 
they  might  have  an  easy  task,  but  that  next  year  they 
would  have  eighty  divisions  to  move  instead  of  fifteen. 
The  present  test  might  therefore  not  be  conclusive.  All  our 
top  people,  I  said,  agreed  with  Petain's  views  on  this  subject, 
but  I  thought,  with  him,  that  we  should  do  well  to  make  the 
best  of  things  as  they  were.  You  can  help,  said  Petain,  if 
when  you  go  to  Pershing  you  inspire  him  with  confidence 
in  me,  and  I  said  that  it  would  be  easy. 

We  discussed  the  Clemenceau-L.  G.  rivalry.  Clemenceau, 
Petain  allowed,  was  sometimes  difficult.  He  wished  to 
control  the  war  and  operations.  His  defects  and  qualities 
had  to  be  taken  together,  but  the  qualities  predominated 
and    decidedly    outweighed    the    defects.      Things    went 


1918]         PltTAIX  ON  THE  OPERATIONS  381 

trefl.  A  great  work  of  reorganisation  had  taken  place, 
only  possible  under  Clcmenceau,  and  instead  of  being  much 
down  in  divisions,  Petain  now  saw  his  way  to  keeping  up 
104  in  1919.  They  had  brought  in  men  from  everywhere, 
including  Senegalese  and  all  sorts.  If  only  we  would  make 
an  effort  !  Mangin  was  having  a  hard  time  N.W.  of  Rheims. 
The  Boches  could  not  afford  to  let  him  get  on.  He  was 
hung  up  and  had  suffered  a  good  deal,  but  was  holding  up 
a  big  bunch  of  Boche  divisions,  and  so  helping  the  English 
by  holding  the  pivot  of  the  Anglo-French  wheel.  Next 
year,  said  Petain,  if  the  war  does  not  end  before,  we  shall 
attack  as  early  as  we  can,  the  French  aiming  at  Mezieres 
and  the  English  at  Hirson.  This  plan  was  already  in 
preparation.  Moronvillers  would  be  retaken  from  the 
east.  The  Americans  would  be  on  the  right.  Petain  was 
pleased  because  at  luncheon  I  had  said  that  I  regarded 
Gouraud's  success  on  July  15  as  the  foundation  of  all  our 
victories  and  wanted  to  know  more  about  it.  It  appears 
that  Petain  had  personally  prepared  this  coup,  and  he  wants 
me  to  visit  Gouraud  at  Chalons  and  to  get  him  to  go  into 
the  story  with  me. 

I  did  not  go  to  the  2nd  Bureau  as  de  Cointet  was  away  on 
leave.  Returned  to  our  Mission  and  sat  in  Woodroffe's 
garden,  where  they  had  just  finished  lunch.  Then  back 
to  Paris.  Petain  wished  me  good-bye  most  cordially,  and 
B&id  that  we  had  always  been  agreed  during  the  war  and 
always  understood  each  other  at  once.  He  is  looking  well 
and  strong.  He  was  slightly  critical  of  Weygand  because 
the  latter  had  held  no  command  during  the  war,  and  his 
only  criticism  of  the  G.Q.G.A.  was  that  it  had  not  always 
I  -fuse  of  possibilities.  Our  people  have  made  the 
same  criticism. 

Thursday,  Sept.  5.    T  am  informed  that  though  Foch 

told  me  he  would  till  Reading  exactly  the  same  thing  about 

effectives  thai  he  told  me,  he  did  not  tell  him  that  if  we  did 

not  keep  up  our  strengths  he  might  have  to  refuse  to  be 

onsible  for  our  Armies.     Reading   was  looking  for  it, 

and  oven  Bahed  for  it,  but  Booh  never  oame  near  it,  so 


382    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

Reading  says.  If  this  is  correct  it  shows  the  difference 
between  Foch  and  Petain,  for  the  latter  would  have  told 
him  in  set  terms.     0  !  faiblesse  humaine  ! 

Lunched  with  Count  Paul  de  Vallombrosa.  We  dis- 
cussed private  affairs  at  some  length.  V.  exercised 
about  the  Jew  influence  round  Clemenceau.  Mandel  and 
Mordacq(?)  are  both  Jews.  There  are  many  deputies  like 
Abrami  of  the  same  race.  The  houses  of  Rothschild, 
Stern,  and  Perrere  very  influential.  Sir  Basil  Zaharoff  of 
Vickers  is  in  Paris,  and  all  known  of  him  is  that  he  is  making 
millions.  Bertie  Stern,  of  the  Tank  Corps,  now  is  head  of 
the  Zionists  and  has  enormous  influence.  He  is  placing 
various  men  over  here.  Major  Goldschmidt  was  named. 
Mandel,  Pams,  and  the  Colonial  Secretary  came  and  sat 
down  to  lunch  next  to  us.  V.  mentioned  M.  Aubriot  as  a 
new  force  in  French  Socialist  policy,  and  said  that  Aubriot 
and  his  friends  meant  to  attack  Clemenceau  by  showing 
up  some  of  his  friends. 

Talked  afterwards  to  Madame  X.,  who  scoffed  at  the 
idea  of  the  Jews  dominating  Clemenceau.  Mandel,  le  Roi 
de  France,  was  of  no  party  and  was  the  cleverest  man  in 
Paris.  The  Socialists  accused  Clemenceau  of  being  sur- 
rounded by  calotins,  reactionaries,  and  freemasons.  She 
thought  Clemenceau  took  an  independent  line,  but  was  old 
and  chambre  by  Mandel  and  Mordacq.  They  occasionally 
got  the  old  man  out  to  the  front.  Then  he  would  probably 
be  laid  up  for  two  days.  Mandel  and  Mordacq  signed 
everything.  Madame  X.  sees  much  of  the  Jew  circle,  and 
assured  me  that  the  Jew  influence  was  exaggerated. 

Saw  the  Marquis  de  Castellane,  who  upbraided  me  for  the 
weakness  of  England  which  would  allow  Germany  to  form 
a  vast  republic  in  the  centre  of  Europe  and  then,  having 
created  European  Bolshevism,  would  fish  in  troubled  waters. 
As  the  French  had  the  military  control,  we  should  demand 
the  diplomatic  control.  America  wished  the  Mats  TJnis  to 
have  nothing  against  them  but  the  Etats  Desunis  of  Europe. 
We  and  the  French  should  resist  this  tendency  and  establish 
settled  order  and  a  real  balance  of  power  by  sustaining 


19181  A  FAIRY  STORY  383 

Austria.  An  American  just  back  from  the  Vesle  says  that 
the  German  prisoners  surrender  freely  to  a  German-speaking 
American  division  there,  and  express  their  desire  to  go  back 
to  America.  He  thought  that  the  Germans  had  been  hit 
on  the  spine  somewhere.  It  was  difficult  to  account  for 
the  sudden  decline  in  moral.  Madame  T.,  who  is  running  a 
hospital  in  the  east  of  France,  says  the  Americans  are  awful. 
They  are  the  parvenus  of  military  society.  They  were 
frightfully  uppish  and  talked  of  walking  over  Metz.  She 
thinks  them  capable  of  it,  but  supposes  that  they  will  toniber 
sur  un  bee  de  gaz  soon  and  get  a  lesson.  I  hear  quite  a 
different  story  of  the  Americans  at  Aix  from  Mrs.  Leeds. 
There  are  relays  of  2000  there  for  leave,  and  they  are  looked 
after  by  the  American  Y.M.C.A.,  taken  about  and  found 
something  to  do  every  hour,  and  are  very  well  behaved. 
The  fact  is  that  everybody's  nerves  are  on  edge,  and  one 
must  allow  for  the  fact. 

In  the  afternoon  had  tea  with  Mrs.  Leeds,  and  she  told 
me  as  a  good  joke  a  regular  fairy  story.  One  day  at  Mon- 
treux  in  the  spring,  a  Russian  formerly  in  the  diplomatic 
service  and  living  at  Berne,  called  Bibliokoff  or  some  such 
name — he  was  Minister  at  Berne  I  think — asked  her  and 
Prince  Christopher  to  talk  to  him  on  urgent  business.  He 
came  and  told  Prince  C.  that  a  delegation  had  arrived  from 
Lithuania  to  offer  him  the  Crown  of  this  newly  created  State, 
They  had  chosen  Christopher  because  he  was  Orthodox, 
Royal,  and  with  no  German  blood,  and  also  because  they 
heard  he  was  to  marry  an  American.  On  the  latter  ground 
the  Lithuanians  in  the  U.S.  had  first  suggested  the  choice. 
B.  told  Prince  C.  that  droves  of  delegates  were  on  their  way 
but  that  B.  had  persuaded  them  to  reduce  themselves  to 
twelve  persons,  and  these  represented  what  Mrs.  Leeds 
called  'the  two  rides,'  perhaps  meaning  the  Right  and  Left. 
Prince  C.  had  to  receive  them,  and  told  them  that  ho  was 
abandoning  his  rights  of  succession  to  two  thrones  in  order 
to  become  a  private  individual,  and  that  the  last  thing 
in  the  world  Ik-  hankered  for  was  a  Crown.  They  were 
grievously  disappointed,  and  he  then  suggested  his  brothers, 


384    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

not  one  of  whom  the  delegation  approved  of  for  various 
reasons,  mainly  because  they  had  German  wives,  and  also 
because  Mrs.  Leeds  alone  could  bring  the  American  connection 
for  which  they  hankered.  Mrs.  Leeds  had  fled  in  a  car  to  the 
other  end  of  the  lake  to  avoid  the  deputation,  and  all  looked 
upon  it  as  a  huge  joke.  Zoya  and  Zitta  (Princess  Helene) 
had  made  great  fun  of  it,  curtseying  to  Mrs.  Leeds,  and  bring- 
ing sham  crowns  on  cushions  and  dressing  up  as  Lithuanian 
nobles  with  tablecloths,  etc.  When  Prince  C.  told  Mrs .  Leeds 
of  the  offer,  she  replied  that  she  would  rather  be  a  lamp- 
post in  New  York  than  Queen  of  Lithuania.  Queen  Sophie, 
the  Kaiser's  sister,  heard  of  the  offer  at  Zurich  and  was 
furious  about  it,  strongly  approving  of  the  refusal,  but  she 
evidently  passed  the  news  on  to  Berlin,  and  a  day  or  two 
later  it  was  announced  that  the  Kaiser  had  put  forward 
one  of  his  sons  for  the  place.  He  had  not  been  accepted, 
nor  some  other  candidates,  and  the  place  was  still  open. 
What  did  I  think  of  it  ? 

I  told  her  that  with  three  million  Americans  in  Germany 
next  year  she  need  not  worry  about  German  opposition  to  an 
American  Queen — which  struck  me  as  the  most  delicious  idea 
imaginable — and  that  she  could  collect  British  and  American 
legislators,  engineers,  cultivators  and  so  on,  and  make 
Lithuania  a  fine  country.  It  would  have  no  enemies  to 
count  with  Germany  down,  and  there  were  no  limits  to 
the  possibilities,  which  might  include  the  rehabilitation  of 
Russia.  All  that  was  needed  was  American  and  British 
support. 

Dined  alone  in  the  restaurant.  Maurice  Rothschild  came 
and  sat  down  by  me.  I  spoke  to  him  of  the  men  round 
Clemenceau  and  of  the  supposed  Jew  influence.  He  said  that 
his  father  had  not  seen  Clemenceau  since  he  took  office,  and 
that  the  house  wanted  nothing  and  did  not  concern  itself  in 
politics,  though  it  had  much  to  do  with  the  Government  about 
the  Nord  line  which  it  owned.  The  Sterns  and  Perreres  were 
small  fry  who  did  not  count.  Zaharoff  of  Vickerswas  another 
matter.  He  had  vast  influence  and  great  wealth,  and  had  just 
been  given  a  very  high  order.     Mandel  he  believed  to  be  a 


1918]  AX  EFFICIENT  DESPOT  385 

Jew.  but  was  not  sure,  and  thought  Mordacq  was  not.  He 
considered  Mandel  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  indefatigable 
men  in  the  world.  He  worked  all  day  at  his  office  and  up 
to  two  in  the  morning.  He  was  chef  du  cabinet  of  the  Civil 
sii  Le  of  the  Presidency  of  the  Council,  knew  about  everything, 
and  practically  ran  ewr\  tiling.  R.  had  a  profound  respect 
for  his  talents.  He  would  become  a  Deputy  at  the  end  of 
the  war  and  probably  a  Minister,  as  he  was  a  fine  speaker 
with  great  gift  of  expression.  R.  very  critical  of  Derby. 
Why  had  he  been  appointed  ?  I  asked  R.  to  name  a  better 
man  and  he  could  not  think  of  one.  I  thought  that  as 
Ministers  came  here  on  every  conceivable  occasion  we  only 
wanted  a  rich  grand  seigneur  who  could  entertain.  When 
the  war  ended  and  Peace  was  concluded,  then  it  would  be 
different.  Derby  seemed  to  me  to  go  down  well  enough, 
and  his  difference  of  type  from  the  regular  diplomat  rather 
tickled  Parisian  fancy.  Later  discussed  the  war  with  some 
French  and  Belgian  officers.     All  agree  that  Petain  has  no 

equal.     They  say  that is  a  natural  son  of  Leopold  of 

Belgium  and  was  born  at  Laaken.     What  next !     There  is 
not  the  faintest  resemblance  ! 

Friday,  Sept.  6.  Took  three  articles  for  the  M  .P.  to  Kenny 
at  30  Avenue  Marceau.  Bigham  away.  Kenny  amusing 
about  the  panic  in  the  Press  Bureau  in  London  when  a 
Repington  article  turned  up,  as  it  usually  did,  just  when 
every  one  wanted  to  get  off  to  dinner.  It  generally  had  to 
go  to  the  D.M.I,  or  the  S.  of  S.  or  to  Downing  Street.  Wrote 
an  article  on  the  campaign  of  1919,  embodying  the  views  of 
the  French  Generals.  Lunched  with  a  French  friend  who 
recommended  me  to  see  de  Martino  in  Rome.  He  told  me 
many  interesting  stories  of  the  French  Government  depart- 
ments and  their  chiefs.  All  proves  to  me  that  Clemenceau 
H  a  despol  and  an  efficient  one.  Pichon  carries  no  weight. 
Berthelot  1-  recovering  his  old  position.    At  a  Conseil  the 

Other    day    Clemenceau    said    Contemptuously    '  PichOQ    has 

understood'  when  some  question  was  being  discussed.  Got 
my  passes  from  the  Yankees  at  10  Rue  St.  Anne.  Heard 
some  delicious  American  French  talk  over  tho  telephone. 


386    THE  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  FRONTS 

Met  various  people,  including  the  very  capable  General 
Burtchaell  of  the  Army  Medical.  He  told  me  that  some 
German  officer  prisoners  were  told  the  other  day  to 
muster  a  crowd  of  privates  in  a  cage  and  march  them  off. 
The  privates  took  not  the  slightest  notice  of  the  orders  of 
their  officers.  This  was  the  first  time  that  such  a  thing 
had  happened.  B.  thought  that  our  convalescent  camps 
had  done  wonders.  They  had  returned  to  the  ranks  300,000 
men  since  March.     A  grand  work. 

In  the  evening  dined  with  the  Maurice  Rothschilds  and 
the  Berthelots  at  45  Rue  Monceau.  A  fine  house,  and 
cooking  excellent.  The  ladies  both  good-looking  and 
agreeable.  Berthelot  very  interesting.  I  gather  that  he  is 
not  at  all  in  favour  of  breaking  up  Austria,  and  says  that  he 
has  not  gone  so  far  with  the  Yugo-Slavs  as  we  have,  because 
he  would  hold  out  no  false  hopes.  He  was  more  expansive 
than  I  have  ever  known  him  to  be,  and  we  discussed  all  sorts  of 
questions  and  people .  He  is  a  jusqu'avbo  utist .  He  compared 
certain  foreign  politicians,  who  are  much  in  view  just  now,  to 
a  lot  of  goldfish  in  a  bowl  who  were  restricted  to  this  limited 
horizon  and  thought  it  all  the  world.  We  discussed  French 
stylists,  and  Anatole  France  was  placed  first.  Berthelot 
thought  that  Rochefort  had  been  the  most  brilliant  of 
modern  French  journalists,  and  that  perhaps  Herve  was  now. 
It  was  not,  he  thought,  profound  knowledge  or  reading 
which  made  the  great  journalist,  but  the  art  of  presenting 
arguments  in  an  attractive  form  and  in  an  authoritative 
manner  which  compelled  the  reader  to  say  '  this  must  be  so  '  ! 
Just  one  leading  idea,  and  one  plaisanterie  which  would  be 
remembered,  made  up  the  article  of  Rochefort,  and  of  course 
courage  and  incisive  writing  were  indispensable.  I  said  that 
Lt.-Col.  Fabry  was  the  best  of  the  French  military  critics, 
but  Oui  is  little  read  it  seems.  From  all  I  hear  in  Paris,  and 
from  all  I  have  seen,  I  place  Berthelot  and  Mandel  easily 
first  of  the  personal  influences  after  Clemenceau.  We  ought 
to  get  them  over  to  England,  and  send  them  round  some  of 
our  great  houses  and  get  them  to  know  our  best  people. 
Both  are  hard-working  students  of  affairs.     Neither  knows 


1918]         TALES  OF  FOCH  AND  PETAIN  387 

English  or  England.  Mandel  is  a  man  of  humble  extraction, 
from  the  small  commerce  I  understand.  I  believe  both  to 
be  straight  patriots,  and  if  they  make  mistakes  about  us 
hereafter  it  will  be  our  fault  for  not  cultivating  the  men  who 
rule  affairs  in  France. 

Saturday,  Sept.  7.  I  hear  that  when  Balfour  asked 
Foch  what  he  meant  to  do,  the  Generalissimo  spoke  no  word, 
but  threw  himself  into  a  lighting  attitude,  hit  out  hard  with 
his  right  fist,  then  hard  with  his  left,  and  then  gave  the 
coup  de  sarute  with  his  right  and  left  leg  in  turn  !  It  is 
quite  like  him  ! 

Tried  to  get  a  photo  of  Petain.  Found  that  the  only  one 
is  a  reproduction  of  a  Press  snapshot  in  which  Petain 
is  scowling  at  the  snapshotter.  Very  characteristic.  In 
these  two  little  tales  are  the  two  men. 

Took  my  article  on  the  campaign  of  1919  to  the  mission. 
Wrote  and  told  Mandel  that  I  had  done  so,  and  advised  him 
to  support  my  theme  with  lus  Press.  We  shall  see  how 
he  does  it,  and  if  he  does  it.  He  was  lunching  to-day  near 
me  at  the  Ritz.  He  has  a  good  head,  capacious  and  well 
formed.  Manner  very  authoritative.  A  bit  of  the  First 
Consul  about  it  all,  and  he  has  the  same  chit  if  appearance, 
though  not  the  same  look  of  command  nor  beauty  of  profile. 
But  how  can  a  pekin  be  anything  now  ?  M.  Painleve 
came  to  call  on  me  and  we  had  a  good  talk  over  events  since 
we  last  met,  especially  about  Nivelle,  and  L.  G.'s  extra- 
ordinary panegyric  of  him  on  August  7  last.  He  gave 
me  some  papers,  and  we  are  to  meet  again.  I  took  him 
to  tea  with  Mrs.  Leeds  in  the  afternoon,  and  we  stayed 
talking  with  her  till  late  in  the  evening. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION,  SEPTEMBER  1918 

Journey  to  Chaumont— American  strengths— Visit  to  General 
Trenchard  and  the  I.A.F.— Trenchard's  views— Visit  to  General  de 
Castelnau— Talk  with  the  American  H.Q.  Staff— The  American  Train- 
ing Schools  at  Langres — American  military  principles  and  practices — 
The  St.  Mihiel  operation— Motor  to  Ligny-en-Barrois— Troops  in  the 
battle— A  successful  attack— Visit  to  the  battlefield— A  cage  of 
German  prisoners — Return  to  Paris — A  German  air  raid  on  Paris — 
General  Wagstaff  on  St.  Mihiel— A  conversation  with  Clemenceau— 
A  French  Yellow  Book— A  talk  about  Palestine— Good  news  from 
the  British  Armies— General  Henderson— Tank  enthusiasts— Murder 
of  the  Tsaritsa  and  her  daughters — French  industry  after  the  war — 
Commodore  Heaton-Ellis  on  naval  affairs. 

Sunday,  Sept.  8.  Left  Paris  8  a.m.  Train  full  of 
Americans.  Arrived  Chaumont  at  1  p.m.  Colonel  Applin, 
who  is  a  M.G.  expert  and  has  been  training  troops  in  the 
U.S.,  was  in  the  train.  He  told  me  the  origin  of  the  salute, 
namely  knights  meeting  and  the  junior  raising  his  vizor. 
Went  to  General  WagstafTs  house.  Found  him  and 
Captain  Nat.  Hone,  the  image  of  his  father  Tom  Hone 
formerly  of  the  7th  Hussars,  and  with  the  same  bounding 
health.  In  the  afternoon  went  into  various  figures  with 
Wagstaff.  The  Americans  have  1,450,000  men  in  the 
aggregate  in  France,  and  1,050,000  fighting  troops  with  1300 
field  and  200  heavy  guns,  and  13,000  machine  guns  (12  to  a 
battalion  and  4  in  reserve).  The  1st  Army  is  about  to 
undertake  the  operation  of  pinching  out  the  St.  Mihiel  salient. 
It  will  have  13  divisions  for  the  job  and  two  more  as 
reserve.  The  French  will  make  up  the  guns  to  a  large 
figure,  and  a  French  Colonial  Corps  is  also  under  Pershing. 
As  there  are  said  to  be  only  6  or  7  second-rate  German 

388 


19181  A  VISIT  TO  TRENCHARD  389 

divisions  opposing  in  this  sector,  success  ought  to  be 
assured. 

A  long  talk  with  General  Moseley,  who  is  a  sort  of  Q.M.G. 
Harbord  is  now  1.6.  of  Communications,  which  is  called 
S.O.S.  or  Service  of  Supplies.  He  is  at  Tours,  a  centre 
chosen  by  Pershing  so  that  he  might  be  able  to  move  his 
Army  in  any  direction  according  to  circumstances.  The 
Americans  now  have  St.  Nazaire.  La  Rochelle,  Bordeaux, 
and  Marseilles  for  their  bases,  and  thus  have  a  wide  base 
of  arrival  confusing  to  submarines.  The  management  of 
these  long  lines  across  France  is  very  serious  and  presents 
the  greatest  difficulties.  At  least  80  per  cent,  improvement 
might  be  made  in  efficiency  if  the  Americans  were  in  charge 
of  the  hues.     So  they  declare. 

Looked  in  to  see  some  others  of  the  H.Q.  Staff.  They 
are  a  capital  set  of  fellows,  and  always  show  me  everything 
that  I  wish  to  see.  In  the  evening  General  Nolan,  Head  of 
the  Intelligence,  dined  with  us  and  I  was  glad  to  see  him 
again.  A  shrewd  sagacious  officer  of  much  competence. 
We  discussed  the  war  up  and  down. 

Monday,  Sept.  9.  The  35th  Austrian  division  has  been 
put  in  near  St.  Mihiel,  making  8  for  the  Americans  to  attack. 
Motored  with  Major  Mauley,  U.S.  Army,  and  Hone,  to 
Trenohard's  H.Q.  at  Autigny -la-Four,  a  few  miles  N.E.  of 
Neufchateau.  A  charming  house  with  terrace  overlooking 
a  pleasant  garden.  The  village  grouped  round,  and  no 
signs  of  the  terrible  bombers  who  make  the  lives  of  the 
Rhinelanders  unbearable.  Trenchard  the  same  as  ever. 
Brilliant,  full  of  ideas,  alert,  combative,  and  a  mine  of 
information.  Ho  has  120  aeroplanes,  mainly  Handley- 
Pages,  for  long-range  bombing,  and  the  squadrons  are 
kttered  round  partly  concealed  in  woods.  The  Huns 
have  800  aeroplanes  for  defence  of  the  Rhine  towns,  of  which 
400  w«re  there  before  Trenchard  came,  and  he  admits  that 
y  14  have  since  como  from  the  Western  front.  He 
does  his  work  without  escorts  of  lighting  machines,  and 
thinkl  that  he  will  be  safe  when  his  bombers  ean  bomb 
at  L'o.ooo  feet.  ;i-  the  enemy  will  then  have  no  lime  to  rise 


390  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

so  high  and  intercept  the  bombers  before  they  have  done 
their  work  and  are  fifty  miles  away.  He  thinks  that  he  has 
done  much  moral  and  material  damage,  and  showed  us 
photographs  of  the  bombs  falling  on  various  towns.  His 
planes  have  now  to  fight  all  the  way  out  and  back  again. 
It  is  impracticable  to  stop  the  night  bomber.  T.  declares 
that  he  has  not  changed  his  views  that  bombing  is  necessary, 
and  that  his  force  is  about  the  same  as  he  intended  to  devote 
to  bombing.  But  he  did  not  admit  that  he  favoured  the  very 
large  development  of  his  I.A.F.  which  the  Air  Ministry  is  set 
upon,  and  I  oppose.  We  went  to  look  at  one  of  his  squadrons 
near  by.  It  was  Major  Read's,  and  consisted  of  8  Handley- 
Pages.  A  squadron  of  these  means  220  men  all  told,  ex- 
clusive of  labour.  The  pilots  told  us  that  they  were  fairly 
safe  at  night  at  7000  feet  from  the  Archies.  They  intend 
to  attack  Essen  with  the  harvest  moon,  and  Berlin  later  in 
the  year,  when  the  bigger  machines  come  along  with  four 
engines  each  350  h.p.  The  thing  is  easily  to  be  done,  and 
the  new  machines  will  carry  a  tremendous  bomb  armament. 

Lunched  at  Neufchateau  and  motored  on  afterwards  to 
Mirecourt,  where  I  called  on  General  de  Castelnau,  who 
seemed  very  pleased  to  see  me  and  with  whom  I  had  a  good 
talk.  He  has  his  Armies  from  Pershing's  right  to  the  Swiss 
frontier.  Pershing  will  not  be  under  him  for  the  coming 
operation.  De  C.  says  that  the  command  of  his  Group  of 
Armies  prevents  him  from  having  the  leisure  and  informa- 
tion for  studying  the  general  situation,  and  he  asked  me  for 
my  opinion  on  many  subjects.  He  says  that  besides  the 
two  Austrian  divisions  now  in  the  line  hereabouts,  there  are 
rumours  of  six  more  behind  and  also  of  some  Turks  arriving. 
We  talked  a  bit  of  old  times.  Returned  to  Chaumont  and 
dined  at  the  mission. 

Tuesday,  Sept.  10.  Spent  most  of  the  day  in  going 
over  the  H.Q.  Staff  bureaux  and  looking  into  things.  Visited 
the  German  battle -order  room,  which  seems  to  be  well  run 
and  up  to  date.  No  great  change  in  German  distribution. 
Our  Armies  and  the  French  keep  on  gaining  ground,  and 
approach  the  fine  held  by  us  in  March  last.     The  Americans 


1918]     THE  RIGHT  NAME  FOR  THE  WAR       391 

say  that  there  is  scarcely  anything  left  in  the  German 
depots  and  that  German  units  are  much  down.  Some 
14  German  divisions  they  think  broken  up,  and  in  21 
divisions  the  battalions  are  down  to  three  companies  some 
800  in  all,  including  machine-gun  company.  Nearly  all  the 
German  divisions  in  reserve  are  much  battle  worn. 

I  saw  the  American  Chief  of  Staff,  General  McAndrew, 
a  kind,  genial  old  gentleman,  and  his  assistant  General 
Eltinge,  a  man  of  character  and  capacity.  I  told  the  former 
that  1  wanted  to  see  how  the  Army  was  run  in  the  coming 
affair  in  order  to  answer  some  criticisms  of  it,  and  he  pro- 
mised to  let  me  know  when  I  could  go  forward  to  see  the 
fun.     He  was  very  agreeable  and  friendly. 

Eltinge  talked  for  an  hour,  and  we  discussed  the  great 
administration  problems  of  America,  including  tonnage. 
They  are  calculating  on  needing  to  bring  over  30  lb.  a  day 
for  every  American  in  France,  but  I  see  that  I  shall  have  to 
go  later  to  General  Harbord  to  gain  precise  ideas  on  the 
tonnage  question.  An  assistant  Chief  of  Staff  is  invaluable 
and  will  save  McAndrew  and  Pershing  at  least  33  per  cent, 
of  their  labours,  but  our  General  Staff  system  is  not  yet 
completely  introduced,  nor  are  command  and  administration 
separated.  The  principle  of  having  the  chief  administrative 
man  at  G.H.Q.  is  contravened  by  having  Harbord  at  Tours. 
We  tried  that  game  with  our  G.O.L.  of  C.  but  it  never  worked. 
I  judge  that  the  Americans  intend  to  get  rid  of  all  French 
and  British  instructors  and  to  create  their  own  tactics  and 
run  their  own  show. 

I  saw  Major  Johnstone,  the  Harvard  Professor  who 
is  lure  to  lay  the  bases  of  an  American  History.  We 
discussed  the  right  name  of  the  war.  I  said  that  we 
called  it  now  The  War,  but  that  this  could  not  last. 
The  Napoleonic  War  was  The  Great  War.  To  call  it  The 
Qerman  War  was  too  much  llattery  for  the  Boche.  I 
Suggested  The   World  War  as  a  shade  better  tit  If.  and  iinally 

we  mutually  agn  ed  to  call  it  The  First  World  War  in  order 
to  prevent  the  millennium  folk  from  forgetting  that  the 
history  <>i  the  wrorld  was  the  hiatory  of  war. 


392  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

Dined  at  General  Nolan's  mess  :  two  and  a  half  hours  of 
interesting  talk.  The  enemy  is  warned  by  his  own  people 
that  the  Americans  will  cut  all  German  throats,  and  the 
Americans  are  countering  by  dropping  proclamations  giving 
the  rations  of  the  American  troops,  and  promising  the  same 
to  Prussians  who  surrender,  on  the  faith  of  an  old  Prusso- 
American  treaty.  I  thought  that  they  should  give  an 
addendum  promising  the  same  treatment  to  Saxons, 
Bavarians,  etc.     We  discussed  the  campaign  up  and  down. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  11.  Motored  to  Langres  with  Captain 
Warwick,  U.S.  Army,  and  Colonel  Apphn  to  see  the  schools 
which  are  now  concentrated  here  throughout  the  old  7th 
training  area.  Called  first  on  Brig. -Gen.  Smith,  who  com- 
mands all  the  schools.  There  are  16,000  officers  and  men 
under  instruction  here.  There  is  a  Staff  school,  three 
months  ;  a  senior  officers'  refresher  course,  14  days  ;  a 
candidates'  or  cadet  school  for  N.C.O.s  ;  a  Line  school  taking 
some  350  men  at  a  time  ;  a  specialists'  school,  and  others  for 
engineers,  tanks,  and  many  other  subjects.  We  looked 
round  the  chief  of  these,  saw  the  students,  looked  in  at 
lectures,  and  tried  the  Browning  heavy  machine  gun  and 
automatic  rifle  which  are  the  newest  features.  I  liked  them 
both.  The  heavy  Browning  much  resembles  a  Maxim  and 
is  water-cooled.  It  is  of  simple  construction,  and  has  several 
advantages  over  ours.  I  was  amused  to  hear  that  it  had 
been  invented  sixteen  years  ago  and  had  been  refused  by 
the  American,  British,  and  several  other  European  Armies. 
Now  it  is  admittedly  in  the  first  rank,  and  it  would  be  in- 
teresting to  know  why  it  had  been  rejected  before. 

We  lunched  with  General  Smith  and  had  a  great  talk 
about  the  war.  I  find  that  the  American  regulars  are  not 
keeping  up  the  State  divisions  because  they  want  to  break 
up  the  National  Guard  divisions  in  which  the  officers  were 
originally  elected  by  the  men.  So  the  States  which  formed 
the  divisions  are  not  sending  reserves  to  keep  their  own 
divisions  up.  But  it  is  admitted  that  the  State  organisa- 
tion is  of  much  value  for  administrative  work,  and  pro  tanto 
relieves  the  Central  Government.     Much  sarcasm  was  ex- 


1918]  AMERICAN  IDEAS  393 

pended  on  the  Coast  Defence  Service  which  is  scarcely 
regarded  as  part  of  the  Army  and  has  a  strong  political 
colouring.  Had  tea  with  Lt.-Col.  Sir  Thomas  Cuninghame 
and  his  officers  at  the  mission.  He  and  I  are  agreed  about 
Greece.  He  also  agrees  with  my  general  views  of  the 
American  Army,  and  gave  me  some  valuable  rough  notes 
of  his  recent  lectures  at  the  Staff  School.  On  our  return 
to  Chaumont  I  found  that  General  Wagstaff  had  been  sent 
for  to  G.H.Q.,  A.E.F.,  and  heard  that  I  was  to  go  on  there 
in  the  morning. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  find  time  to  reproduce  all  the 
conversations  which  I  have  had  with  many  Americans  these 
last  four  days,  nor  to  note  the  various  principles  and  practices 
laid  down  by  new  American  regulations  and  carried  out  in 
the  field.  But  there  are  certain  leading  ideas  worth  noting 
before  arriving  on  the  battlefield.  First,  the  leading  American 
idea  is  to  beat  the  Boche  in  Europe,  in  the  belief  that  every- 
thing else  will  be  added  unto  us  when  this  is  accomplished. 
A  strong  distaste  and  disapproval  of  the  side-show  is  the 
corollary  of  this  leading  idea.  As  I  have  been  preaching 
these  ideas  for  four  years,  I  am  naturally  pleased.  Secondly, 
the  offensive  spirit  is  cultivated  to  the  utmost  degree  in 
all  the  training.  Thirdly,  the  American  regards  infantry 
as  the  arm  of  decision  and  pays  most  attention  to  it,  nurses 
it.  and  fights  with  it  more  than  any  of  America's  Allies  now 
do.  The  battalion  of  1000  bayonets  is  kept  up,  thanks  to 
the  depot  divisions  in  France,  and  all  accessories  for  the 
infantry  divifikmfi  are  found  from  sources  outside  the 
battalion  strength.  Thus  though  the  division  is  only  twelve 
b.iti alions — the  same  as  ours  until  last  year — the  bayonet 
Strength  in  the  field  is  twice  or  three  times  that  of  Boche, 
British,  or  French,  and  the  American  division  has  28,000 
fighting  troops.  The  Americans,  while  keeping  their  eyes 
and  ears  open  and  accepting  our  own  and  French  bast  motors, 
are  set  OH  having  their  own  eodo  of  tactics,  and  these  are 
neither  French  aor  British,  !>ut  American.  They  are  half- 
way  between  ours  and  the  French,  and  as  they  are  different 
Ijnerioans   fight   better   by  themselves.      Everything 


394  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

has  to  be,  and  so  is,  American.  The  pride  of  race  is  very 
strong.  The  Americans  are  earnest  serious  people,  even  the 
private  soldiers,  who  have  nothing  of  the  devil-may-care 
light-heartedness  of  our  men.  They  have  come  here  to  do 
or  die  and  are  as  keen  as  mustard,  but  still  very  serious  and 
quiet  about  it  all.     They  are  in  truth  Crusaders. 

I  hope  to  see  now  whether  the  Command  and  Higher  Staff 
are  equal  to  the  manipulation  of  this  gigantic  weapon  which 
they  have  forged,  but  I  think  that  we  can  disabuse  our  minds 
of  the  idea  that  the  Chiefs  are  amateurs.  West  Point  set  a 
high  standard  of  discipline  and  education.  It  is  the  West 
Point  standard  that  Pershing  endeavours  to  establish  through 
his  Armies,  and  his  chief  officers  are  men  highly  educated  in 
theory  and  only  lacking  in  the  experience  of  handling  large 
masses.  Pershing  has  chosen  his  higher  leaders  from  men 
who  have  had  practical  experience  in  France.  He  himself 
to-day  leads  the  1st  Army,  so  that  he  may  have  had  the 
practical  experience  necessary  when  he  commands  several 
Armies,  and  the  American  instructions  issued  here  this 
summer  show  that  every  detail  of  the  modern  battlefield  has 
been  studied  and  taken  in.  Will  practice  on  a  large  scale 
come  up  to  theory  ?  This  we  shall  see.  The  academic  still 
rules  in  high  circles.  Even  in  the  schools  there  is  more  of 
the  diploma  spirit  than  one  could  wish,  more  of  the  desire 
to  cast  out  the  inefficients  than  to  raise  the  level  of  the  whole. 
But  I  find  that  Americans  are  learning  by  experience  every 
day,  and  are  not  above  learning.  Their  strong  common 
sense  aids  them.  They  have  seen  a  good  deal  by  now,  and 
have  had  eight  divisions  seriously  engaged.  Their  divisions 
have  done  well,  and  though  the  big  affair  is  much  more  com- 
plicated and  difficult  I  hope  and  believe  that  they  will  come 
through  the  ordeal  successfully. 

Thursday,  Sept.  12.  Motored  early  to  Ligny-en-Barrois, 
a  few  miles  S.E.  of  Bar -le -Due,  where  General  Pershing  had 
established  his  G.H.Q.  At  1  a.m.  his  guns  opened  against 
the  German  line  from  Pont  a  Mousson  to  Xivray  (main 
attack)  and  in  the  Dommartin  sector  (secondary  attack). 
The  former  attack  began  at  5  a.m.  and  the  latter  at  8  a.m. 


1918]  THE  PLAN  OF  OPERATIONS  395 

The  object  was  to  pinch  the  St.  Mihiel  salient,  and  after 
capturing  the  Boche  lines  to  occupy  the  line  Pont  a  Mousson- 
Thiaucoiu't-Hattonville-Tresain  aux,  and  to  exploit  the  suc- 
0668  up  to  tin*  llindenburg  line.  Note  that  the  divisions 
numbered  1  to  25  are  the  old  Regular  Army  divisions; 
26th  to  75th  are  the  .National  Guard;  and  over  75  are 
the  National  Army  divisions  which  begin  with  the  300th 
regiment. 

The  1st  and  4th  American  Army  Corps  were  in  the  main 
attack  on  the  right.  Their  divisions  from  right  to  left  were 
the  82nd,  90th,  5th,  and  2nd  for  the  1st  Army  Corps,  with 
the  TSth  in  reserve.  The  4th  Army  Corps  continued  the  line 
with  the  89th,  42nd  and  1st,  and  with  the  3rd  in  reserve.  The 
2nd  French  Colonial  Corps  held  the  lines  round  the  point 
of  the  Saint  Mihiel  salient,  with  the  39th,  26th,  and  2nd  (dis- 
mounted cavalry)  divisions.  In  the  secondary  attack  the 
5th  American  Army  Corp3  had  the  26th  and  15th  divisions 
from  right  to  left,  and  the  4th  in  reserve.  The  Army  reserve 
were  the  35th,  91st,  and  80th  at  Liveaudun,  Sorcy,  and 
TrouviDe  respectively.  Probable  attacking  strength  400,000 
combatants  in  the  aggregate,  of  whom  220,000  in  first  line, 
against  120,000  Boches  or  less,  exclusive  of  Boche  reserves 
which  might  be  brought  up. 

The  main  attack  was  wonderfully  successful  and  attained 
ite  three  objectives  with  rapidity,  Thiaucourt  being  gained, 
9  kil.  distant,  by  11.30  a.m.  The  secondary  attack  also 
gained  Dommartin,  and  at  the  close  of  the  afternoon  it  looked 
.i-  though  the  Americans  might  make  a  good  bag  in  the 
salient  and  might  also  have  taken  a  good  number  of  guns. 
The  defence  was  not  good,  and  many  Boches  surrendered 
freely.     The  whole  attack  was  conducted  on  a  scientific  and 

ethodicaJ  plan,  and  was  resolutely  executed  by  the  divi- 

A!l  zones  of  attach  were  marked  out.  the  successive 

objectives  plainly  jointed  out,  and  the  co-operation  of  arms, 

■  d  Hying  men  appears  to  have  been  all  thai  could 

l..-  desired.      Tin-   kittle   provisionally    answers  the  question 

whether  the  Americans  can  oonducl  a  great  operation  on 
their  own  account, and  answers  it  in  the  affirmative  so  far 

VOL.  II.  2  D 


396  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

as  it  goes.  This  is  all  that  I  came  here  to  ascertain.  An 
attack  on  the  Hindenburg  line  and  an  operation  against 
Metz  may  follow,  but  we  shall  see.  The  heavy  rain  of  the 
past  few  days  made  the  ground  soft  and  holding,  but  had 
not  been  continuous  enough  to  prevent  the  attack,  though  it 
will  delay  the  guns  in  getting  forward.  I  saw  Colonel  Drum, 
the  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  1st  Army,  and  sent  by  him  my  con- 
gratulations to  Pershing.  In  the  Operations  Branch  G  3, 
I  was  shown  everything  as  reports  came  in,  and  also  visited 
various  liaison  officers,  including  our  Major  Gieger,  who  was 
most  courteous.  There  was  little  flurry  or  excitement,  and 
every  one  was  well  content  with  the  results  of  the  first 
American  battle  in  France.  The  troops  had  done  all  that 
they  had  been  asked  to  do,  and  the  depth  of  the  advance  was 
notable  considering  the  defences  and  the  state  of  the  ground. 

I  found  the  Vicomte  de  Polignac  at  Neuf chateau,  and  he 
came  on  and  returned  with  me.  He  told  me  much  about 
Tardieu's  mission  to  America  and  its  origin.  He  was  with 
Tardieu.  We  recalled  our  last  party  before  the  war  with  all 
the  pretty  ladies  at  his  house  at  Rheims  for  the  vendange 
of  1913.  The  pleasant  house  has  been  destroyed.  The 
Colonials  who  defended  Rheims  this  year  so  gallantly  had 
been  ordered  to  retire,  but  the  officer  commanding  had  held 
on,  and  the  Colonials  had  vowed  that  they  would  not  leave 
while  there  was  a  bottle  of  champagne  left  in  de  Polignac's 
(Pommery)  cellars  !  Polignac  described  Mandel  as  the 
coming  man  in  France,  and  said  it  was  a  pity  that  Berthelot 
loved  paradox  so  much  :  he  had  said  that  he  would  never 
outrage  the  intelligence  of  his  contemporaries  by  placing 
the  right  man  in  the  right  place  anywhere. 

Friday,  Sept.  13.  The  news  this  morning  confirmed  the 
success  of  yesterday  and  brought  no  word  of  any  set-back. 
Motored  to  Ligny-en-Barrois  and  had  good  calks  with 
Pershing's  Staff,  the  British  Mission,  and  the  Operations 
Branch.  All  goes  exceedingly  well.  The  two  American 
attacks  united  at  8  a.m.  to-day,  and  there  should  be  a 
pretty  good  mop-up  in  the  salient.  The  Americans  took  the 
entire  line,  which  was  their  extreme  objective,  and  are  now 


1918]  A  SUCCESSFUL  ATTACK  397 

exploiting  up  to  the  Hindenburg  line.  The  French  are  in 
St.  Mihiel  and  are  pursuing  the  remnants,  who  should  be 
driven  into  the  arms  of  the  northern  American  attack. 
Clemenceau  arriving  at  St.  Mihiel  to-day.  The  town  not 
destroyed  and  the  inhabitants  still  there.  Petain  is  with 
Clemenceau  and  Mr.  Baker  the  U.S.  War  Secretary.  The 
identifications  of  prisoners  taken  yesterday  prove  the 
accuracy  of  the  information  about  German  distribution. 
Only  one  division  was  incorrectly  given,  and  this  because 
the  30th  German  had  just  been  relieved  by  the  192nd.  The 
prisoners  sa}'that  the  attack  was  expected,  but  was  a  surprise 
when  it  came.  They  were,  I  think,  begiirning  to  withdraw 
their  material  but  were  caught  en  flagrant  dUit.  The 
prisoners  say  that  there  is  a  concentration  on  the  Hinden- 
burg line. 

Motored  out  via  Commercy  and  Beaumont  to  Flirey, 
where  we  left  the  car  and  followed  the  Army  towards 
Thiaucourt  to  examine  the  German  position.  It  was 
powerful  at  this  point.  A  long  glacis,  several  forward 
trenches,  much  wire,  and  a  concreted  main  position  with- 
drawn some  150  yards  behind  the  crest  of  the  ridge  looking 
down  into  Flirey.  Good  dug-outs  and  bomb-proofs,  and  a 
daedalus  of  trenches.  The  American  dead  here  are  not 
yet  touched  and  he  as  they  fell,  with  all  their  arms  and 
equipments  still  on  them.  The  first  dead  man  I  saw  was  a 
drafted  man  called  Roy  Bassett  of  the  366th  infantry.  The 
trenches  were  filled  with  unexploded  shells,  grenades, 
mustard-gas  remains,  and  devilments  of  all  sorts,  com- 
pelling us  to  go  warily.  The  wire  of  several  kinds,  the 
oldest  very  thick  and  all  over  strong  barbs  :  the  latest 
unbarbed  and  thin  but  in  great  coils,  hard  to  get  through. 
The  strong  points  were  surrounded  by  interior  zaribas  of 
the  wire.  I  do  not  think  that  the  Germans  of  six  months 
ago  could  have  been  turned  out  of  such  a  position  at  the 
gallop  as  they  were  yesterday.  I  should  judge  that  tho 
defence  was  poor,  but  some  of  the  wire  was  cut,  the  German 
guns  did  little,  and  possibly  the  Order  to  retire  had  been 
given. 


398  THE  ST.4  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

A  great  view  from  the  ridge  of  the  whole  battlefield, 
and  I  examined  it  carefully  through  my  Zeiss  glasses. 
All  the  villages  to  the  north  from  Hatton  Chatel,  through 
Hattonville  and  Vigneulles,  and  thence  to  the  east  and 
north-east,  appeared  to  be  burning,  including  three  beyond 
the  Hindenburg  line.  The  battlefield  was  singularly  quiet. 
We  appeared  to  occupy  the  air,  and  though  it  hummed  I 
saw  not  one  Boche  plane  come  near  us.  The  heavy  guns 
behind  us  were  busy  in  the  Metz  direction.  The  ground 
much  less  unfavourable  than  I  dared  to  hope.  The  roads 
have  suffered  at  their  soft  edges,  and  when  columns  of 
lorries  tried  to  pass  each  other  there  was  much  delay,  but 
the  ground  on  the  battlefield  absorbs  rain  and  dries  rapidly. 
It  was  not  at  all  wet,  and  I  suppose  that  the  long  dry  season 
has  made  it  thirsty.  Also  though  there  has  been  a  good 
deal  of  rain  it  has  been  more  showers  than  continuous 
downpours.  We  were  able  to  recognise  the  complete 
achievement  of  Pershing's  design,  and  turned  our  thoughts 
and  our  eyes  towards  Metz. 

Returning  later  to  view  the  American  jumping-off  ground 
and  the  battery  positions,  we  found  the  country  roads 
much  blocked  with  troops  and  transport  of  all  kinds.  The 
Staff  work  has  failed  here,  and  for  miles  transport  congested 
all  the  approaches.  One  enterprising  Boche  air  squadron, 
flying  low,  could  have  played  the  deuce  on  these  roads, 
but  not  one  came.  The  French  and  Americans  held  the 
air,  while  Trenchard  was  most  active  last  night  and  bombed 
Metz-Sablons  with  great  vigour.  There  were  still  many 
French  75's  with  their  trails  dug  down  to  give  increased 
range,  and  many  heavy  guns  still  in  the  original  position, 
but  many  had  gone  on.  The  dumps  were  numerous  and 
scattered.  There  must  have  been  a  large  supply  of  ammuni- 
tion for  this  affair.  Many  of  the  French  batteries  were 
drawn  by  tractors,  even  the  75's. 

Returned  via  Toul  and  met  many  hundreds  of  prisoners 
en  route.  We  went  to  see  the  cage  at  Pagny-sur-Meuse. 
There  were  3000  Boches  there  standing  crowded  in  a  cage, 
and  10,000  more  were  expected  before  night.     They  will 


1918]  LITTLE  TO  CRITICISE  399 

have  to  remain  there  all  night  without  much  food  or  any 
shelter.  It  is  reported  to-night  that  the  tally  of  prisoners 
rims  up  to  15,000.  An  extraordinarily  successful  operation. 
Even  if  the  opposition  was  not  of  very  high  quality  the 
question  whether  the  Americans  can  conduct  a  great  opera- 
tion has  been  decidedly  answered  in  the  affirmative,  and 
there  is  little  that  one  can  criticise.  I  found  the  Staffs  cool, 
modest,  and  very  happy.  The  prisoners  were  on  the  whole 
quite  good  men,  well  fed,  and  mostly  fine-looking  fellows, 
though  there  were  some  exceptions.  Three  per  cent,  of 
the  prisoners  were  officers. 

A  good  talk  over  details  at  the  Ncufchateau  mess  in  the 
evening.  I  have  seen  all  I  wanted  to  see,  and  must  now 
get  on  to  Italy.  Thinking  tilings  over  I  give  the  palm  to 
the  '  doughboys  '  or  infantry,  and  must  not  forget  the  good 
march  discipline  of  all  troops.  Only  the  management  of  the 
road  traffic  showed  inexperience  and  threatens  danger. 

Saturday,  Sept.  14.  This  morning's  unofficial  reports 
bring  the  captures  up  to  20,000.  We  are  said  to  be  bom- 
barding Metz.  A  fine  day  at  last.  Motored  back  to  Chau- 
mont  after  learning  that  an  operation  in  Alsace  was  next 
on  the  list.  Saw  some  of  the  H.Q.  Staff  and  watched  the 
ceremony  of  changing  guard,  which  is  not  unlike  that  at 
St.  James's  Palace.  There  was  a  full  band  and  a  march 
past  of  the  new  guards.  The  officer  of  the  day,  who  acts 
as  a  sort  of  inspecting  officer,  stands  with  his  arms  folded 
and  Ms  elbows  on  a  level  with  his  shoulders  until  the  march 
past  begins.  Lunehed  with  Hone.  Wagstaff  has  sent  no 
word  yet.  Train  to  Paris  with  a  lot  of  young  American 
officers  who  have  just  finished  school  courses,  and  are 
making  for  Paris  to  find  out  where  their  regiments  are  ! 
A  good  excu-e  for  a  jolly!  We  were  crammed,  but 
three  French  [adiefl  got  in  and  we  made  room  for  them, 
and    then    ehalTed    all    1  he    way   to    Paris;    scarcely   a    Yank 

ahle  to  etpeak  a  word  of  French    hut  conversing  all  the 

time    all    the    -,ime  '       The    l.nh.-    g;ive    us    all    tlowers    as 

partes  bofiheur,     M<-i   Muriel  Wilson  and  het  husband  as 

I  readied  the   Elite,      found  a  few  letten   awaiting   inc. 


4oo  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

Dined  in  my  rooms.  A  lovely  bath  about  10.30  p.m.,  and 
then  came  a  telephone  message  to  me  to  join  a  merry 
party,  but  I  could  not  bother  to  dress  again,  so  Reggie 
Pembroke  and  Tom  Bridges  came  down  to  me  and  we 
talked  till  1  a.m.  of  the  war  and  people  and  things.  Reggie 
deplores  the  anti-Japanese  feeling  among  the  English  in 
Japan.  The  Yokohama  merchants  and  the  Consular 
Service  in  Japan  are  mostly  of  the  same  way  of  thinking. 
It  is  all  very  bad  for  our  Far  Eastern  policy.  Reggie  is 
here  as  liaison  officer  between  G.H.Q.  and  the  Allied  Com- 
mittee on  Supplies.  Poor  Tom  has  to  return  to  Washington 
much  against  his  will,  and  I  expect  he  desires  a  command 
again.  His  new  leg  is  quite  a  success,  and  he  limps  extra- 
ordinarily little  considering  all  things.  Bee  has  nearly  had 
a  breakdown,  and  has  a  month's  leave.  She  intends  to  carry 
on  her  sixty-five  beds  at  Wilton  during  the  winter. 

Sunday,  Sept.  15.  Spent  most  of  the  day  writing  two 
articles  on  the  American  battle.  Lunched  at  the  Am- 
bassadeurs  with  J.  de  S.  I  did  not  think  much  of  the 
houris  who  congregate  there  on  fine  days  for  dejeuner. 
Not  much  news.  In  the  morning  I  went  to  the  Embassy 
and  told  Derby  all  about  my  experiences  with  the  Americans. 
He  showed  me  Pauline  Bonaparte's  bedroom,  which  has  some 
fine  examples  of  Empire  furniture.  He  admires  Clemenceau 
and  has  an  affection  for  him.  He  told  me  that  David 
Henderson  was  coming  here  in  Le  Roy's  place.  Clive 
goes  to  G.H.Q.  to  replace  poor  Cox,  the  new  D.M.I,  in 
France,  whose  accidental  death  by  drowning  is  a  tragedy. 
Thwaites  takes  Macdonogh's  place  as  D.M.I. ,  and  Macdonogh 
becomes  A.G. 

Cavan  told  Derby  that  the  Austrians  were  fighting  well, 
as  well  as  the  Boches.  He  thinks  that  the  opportunity  of 
attacking  them  has  been  allowed  to  slip  by,  and  he  is  off 
to  England  on  three  weeks'  leave  for  cub -hunting. 

As  I  finished  above,  and  was  just  off  to  bed  at  1.30  a.m.,  the 
sirens  began  to  wail,  and  almost  simultaneously  the  guns 
opened  on  the  Boche  planes  which  are  raiding  Paris.  They 
appear  to  come  in  from  the  west  and  to  be  moving  north. 


1918]  PARIS  AIR  RAIDS  401 

The  hotel  seems  to  be  in  darkness,  and  there  are  no  lights  in 
the  passages.  Not  such  heavy  fire  as  in  many  London  raids, 
but  it  is  a  pretty  continuous  roll,  about  fifty  shots  a  minute. 
At  2.40  A.M.  the  tire  died  down.  Quelle  sale  voisinc,  la  mart  ! 
Most  of  the  ladies  flew  to  the  cellars  to-night.  Nancy  did 
not,  refusing  to  be  intimidated  by  a  Boche.  Reggie  went 
out  into  the  passage,  and  finding  a  plain  lady  in  a  dishevelled 
nightdress  with  a  candle,  tied  back  to  his  room  and  locked 
himself  in. 

Monday,  Sept.  16.  A  second  raid  began  at  4.15  a.m.  this 
morning  and  lasted  half  an  hour.  This  is  the  Boche  prelude 
to  the  Austrian  peace  proposal  launched  this  morning  and 
displays  their  usual  ignorance  of  French  psychology.  All 
the  papers  reject  the  proposals  with  contumely.  The  offer  is 
to  meet  in  a  neutral  capital  and  discuss  peace  confidentially 
without  an  armistice.  This  is  no  doubt  the  result  of  Von 
Hint/.'<  visit  to  Count  Burian  at  Vienna  on  Sept.  3  and  4, 
though  Germany  to  save  her  pride  throws  all  the  onus  for 
the  offer  on  Austria.  It  seems  probable  that  an  Allied 
attack  on  Alsace  and  a  projected  invasion  across  the  Rhine 
are  about  to  open. 

Mandel  asks  me  to  see  him  to-morrow  and  to  see 
demenceau  afterwards.  Last  night  Reggie  Pembroke  and 
M.  Painleve  dined  with  me  and  we  had  a  good  talk.  I  told 
them  my  experiences  at  St.  Mihiel,  and  hoped  that  tho 
Americans  would  not  draw  excessive  conclusions  from  their 
victory.  Painleve'  shares  my  opinion  that  Central  Europe 
without  an  Austrian  counter-weight  to  Germany  would 
become  Boche,  and  that  all  the  little  independent  states 
would  be  .-wallowed  one  by  one. 

I  notice  thai  1  have  left  out  tho  information  which  reached 
me  al  G.H.Q.,  A.E.F.,  that  the  circular  tour  of  the  transports 
-till  takes  fifty  five  'lays,  i.e.  from  the  day  they  Leave  the 
American  coast  until  the  day  they  set  out  from  America  again. 
The  main  cause  of  the  delay  is  the  waiting  off  the  Brenoh  ports 
for  Ix-itim.  Puinlevi-  admits  tho  value  of  the  American  in- 
•  Uations,  bul  aj  thai  thej  are  of  a  temporary  nature 
and  will  only  last  a  lev  like  the  American  Btandard 


402  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

6hips  which  are  put  together  in  thirty-two  days  and  will 
not  last  very  long. 

X.  came  in  the  morning.  He  tells  me  that  Monsignore 
Tedeschini,  Substitut  de  la  Secretariat  d'Etat,is  the  dominat- 
ing influence  at  the  Vatican.  He  is  a  priest  from  Rieti,  about 
forty- two  years  of  age,  very  intelligent,  and  much  trusted  by 
the  Pope,  who  sees  him  daily.  He  is  reported  to  be  devoted 
to  the  cause  of  the  Central  Empires.  The  Pope  the  other  day 
brought  him  a  present  of  a  silver  tea-set  and  all  the  Roman 
Black  families,  on  hearing  of  it,  went  to  call  upon  Tedeschini 
though  they  dislike  him.  Monsignore  Cerretti,  Secretaire  de 
la  Congregation  des  Affaires  Ecclesiastiques,  is  also  important. 
He  is  skilled  in  exterior  and  American  affairs.  X.  places 
these  two  men  first  in  the  Vatican  Councils.  He  says  that 
the  German  Minister — Miihlberg  I  think — lately  at  the 
Vatican,  remains  at  Lugano  in  constant  correspondence 
with  the  Vatican  by  the  V.  bag.  The  Italian  Government 
use  the  Vatican  and  are  in  constant  relations  with  it.  It  has 
not  been  thought  advisable  to  forbid  the  passages  of  the 
Vatican  valises  !  The  Quirinal  doubtless  uses  them  upon 
occasion.  X.  says  that  Montmartre  was  rather  heavily 
bombed  last  night,  and  that  four  large  bombs  fell  in  a 
restricted  area  and  did  much  harm.  The  Boche  official  says 
that  the  raid  was  a  reprisal. 

Wrote  most  of  the  day  and  finished  a  series  of  three  articles 
on  the  Americans.  Had  tea  with  Mrs.  Leeds  and  a  long  talk. 
Dined  with  Major  and  Mrs.  Warde  (Muriel  Wilson),  Sevasto- 
poulo,  and  the  bride,  Lady  Alastair  Leveson-Gower.  Reggie 
Pembroke  and  Graves  joined  us  later.  A  merry  party  with 
much  chaff.  Mrs.  Warde  in  great  form.  The  bride  very 
agreeable.  Sevastopoulo  has  left  his  Russian  Embassy  and 
is  still  rather  miserable  about  things.  He  sneers  at  Mandel 
who,  he  says,  s'ecoute  parler,  and  so  he  does.  Clemenceau 
does  everything  without  consulting  the  Quai  d'Orsay  or  the 
Allies.  His  Polish  declaration  and  the  Prince  Sixte  letter  are 
examples.  Berthelot  is  only  rising  because  Margerie  is  ill,  and 
Clemenceau  does  not  like  him.  Reggie  was  killing  about  his 
Japanese  trip.  He  is  made  Commander  of  the  Sacred  Treasure. 


1918]  WAGSTAFF'S  VIEWS  403 

Tuesday,  Sept.  17.  It  is  vexatious  to  find  that  there  is 
no  sleeping-car  scat  to  Italy  before  the  21th.  but  I  hope  that  I 
may  get  one  earlier.  Saw  M.  Guaria  at  the  Italian  Embassy, 
and  he  is  telegraphing  to  General  Diaz  to  announce  my 
arrival  next  Wednesday  if  I  cannot  get  away  earlier.  Took 
my  three  articles  on  General  Pershing's  victory  to  the  U.S. 
people  at  10  Rue  St.  Anne,  and  hope  that  they  may  reach 
London  all  right.  I  saw  M.  Mandel  twice  to-da3T  and  was 
to  have  seen  Clemenceau  at  5,  but  he  was  extenue  by  a  heavy 
day,  including  a  speech  in  the  Senate  on  the  Austrian  offer 
of  negotiation,  and  I  am  to  see  him  to-morrow.  Are  relations 
still  a  bit  tense  about  effectives  ?  Mandel  tells  me  that 
Milner  and  Clemenceau  have  not  met  this  time.  Milner 
returns  to  London  on  Thursday.  Clemenceau  in  the  Senate, 
according  to  Rfandel,  declared  that  there  was  no  compromise 
between  crime  and  justice;  that  France  had  lived  for  fifty 
years  under  the  regime  of  the  dry  powder  ;  that  she  had  not 
desired  the  war  ;  and  that  she  now  intended  to  end  it  by 
victory.     So  Burian  Will  have  to  report  nothing  doing. 

The  Boche  plane  destroyed  in  the  Sunday  night  raid  was 
a  Friedrichshafcn  G  11.,  a  biplane  with  two  225  h.p.  Benz 
6-cylinder  motors.  Three  guns.  Four  hours'  flight.  Upper 
wings  20  m.  30,  lower  18  m.  80. 

General  Wagstafi  looked  in,  and  we  compared  our  ex- 
periences of  the  battle.  He  agrees  with  me  about  the  con- 
striction of  the  road  traffic  and  says  that  the  American 
Staff  System  is  to  leave troopsto  work  out  their  o\\  n  salvation, 
and  not  for  the  Staff  to  run  about  and  get  things  done.  He 
think-  it  lucky  for  the  Yanks  that  the  weather  favoured 
them  and  they  conld  Lret  t  heir  si  nil  along.  X.  looked  in  later 
after  being  attended  to  by  a  brace  of  houris,  one  of  whom 
•  1  his  head  while  the  other  manieured  his  hands. 
He  adinitti  much  tension  between  Clemenceau  and  our 
Government,  as  c.  sent   a   rery  stiff  □  practically 

accusing  us  ol  nut  doing  our  dutj  aboul  effectives,  as  indeed 
we  are  not,  and  [said  so.     Ii  sen, -that  C.'s  communication 
in  the  Tiger'i   besl  fighting  style,  and  t hat  ('.cannot 
afford  it  t<>  )><•  published  becau  e  of  the  things  it  contains 


404  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

about  England,  France,  and  America.  Therefore  X.  thinks 
that  our  people  may  think  that  they  have  C.  on  the  hip. 
But  so  have  others  thought  about  the  Tiger,  and  they  have 
often  been  wrong.  If  it  comes  to  revelations,  Clemenceau 
has  a  satchel  full.  Mandei  told  me  to-day  that  he  would 
talk  to  me  more  freely  after  Clemenceau  had  expressed  his 
views  to  me  at  length  to-morrow.  It  looks  as  if  the  political 
weather  were  a  bit  thick. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  18.  General  Wagstaff  looked  in  last 
night,  and  this  morning  we  drove  to  the  Bois  and  took  a 
walk.  We  compared  our  experiences  of  St.  Mihiel.  W. 
said  that  the  men  were  fed,  because  they  had  taken  two  days' 
food  with  them.  He  saw  some  eat  both  days'  rations  for 
lunch  the  first  day.  It  was  the  American  habit,  he  thought, 
to  let  people  look  after  themselves,  and  all  the  officers  said 
was  that  the  men  would  be  darned  hungry  next  day.  The 
Americans  almost  expected  the  horses  to  feed  and  water 
themselves.  They  were  not  good  horse-masters  and  did 
not  water  horses  often  enough.  He  said  that  he  saw 
thousands  of  slickers  (waterproofs)  thrown  away  in 
the  woods,  and  the  officers  guessed  that  fatigue  parties 
would  be  sent  to  collect  them.  He  agreed  with  me  about 
the  constriction  of  the  road  traffic.  In  principle  each 
division  had  its  axial  road,  and  if  there  was  none  it  had  to 
be  made.  But  the  cross-roads  had  not  been  definitely 
allocated,  and  on  the  principle  of  '  passing  the  buck  '  the 
Corps  handed  the  business  over  to  the  Division,  and  the 
latter  on  till  it  reached  the  regiment.  He  took  the  Chief 
of  one  of  the  Staffs  to  the  Flirey  cross-roads,  which  I  had 
mentioned  as  typical,  and  had  pointed  out  the  faults  and 
what  should  be  done  to  repair  them.  He  thought  that  the 
Yankees  picked  up  things  fast.  They  would  find  that  they 
could  not  march  all  over  the  country  as  over  the  prairie  in 
America,  and  had  to  suit  their  arrangements  to  the  poor 
country  roads  of  France.  I  told  him  that  along  many 
miles  of  road  a  single  Boche  air  squadron  might  have 
played  havoc  and  immobilised  the  Army,  as  the  transport 
could   not  possibly   have   unwound  itself.     W.   says  that 


1918]  A  TALK  WITH  CLEMENCEAU  405 

America  had  600  planes  in  the  air  on  the  12th,  of  all  sorts, 
good  and  bad.  It  was  their  great  effort.  The  only  fight 
in  the  air  that  he  saw  was  when  one  Boche  attacked  six 
Yanks.  He  thought  that  the  French  had  sent  only  1000 
guns  or  so.  They  had  packed  up  and  gone  since  I  had  left, 
and  he  was  much  interested  to  hear  my  second-hand  tale 
about  Alsace  and  the  proposed  invasion  of  Germany  across 
the  Rhine.  Many  Bodies  in  the  salient  escaped  by  a  new 
road  through  the  woods  which  had  not  been  reported. 

Met  Solly-Mood  after  lunch.  He  is  in  command  of  the 
42nd  Division  at  Havrincourt  road,  and  says  that  his 
division  has  taken  17,000  Boche  prisoners.  It  was  a  great 
change  for  him  to  command  on  horseback  and  use  gallopers. 
We  were  coming  back  to  the  old  Field  Service  Regulations. 

At  3  p.m.  I  saw  M.  Clemenceau  at  the  War  Ministry.  I 
congratulated  him  on  all  that  he  had  accomplished  since 
we  last  met,  and  told  him  that  now  at  last  the  Winged 
Victory  in  the  Entrance  Hall  might  be  supplied  with  a 
head.  He  was  looking  very  brown  and  well.  His  table 
was  littered  with  papers  and  reports,  amongst  which  he 
pointed  out  laughingly  one  of  my  articles.  We  talked 
first  of  the  Command,  and  agreed  that  the  whole  thing 
worked  extraordinarily  well  just  now,  and  that  all  the 
Generals  were  on  the  best  of  terms.  What  did  he  think,  I 
asked,  about  the  current  ideas  that  other  oversea  campaigns 
should  be  brought  under  Foch  or  Versailles  ?  He  was  not 
in  favour  of  it.  He  thought  that  the  essential  thing  had 
been  done,  and  that  best  might  prove  the  enemy  of  good. 
We  were  now  winning  the  war,  and  it  was  best  not  to  disturb 
things  again.  Foch  could  always  advise  about  other 
campaigns  and  meanwhile  the  main  question  was  set  right. 
Did  I  not  agree  ?  I  said  that  I  did,  and  had  no  love  lost 
for  Versailles  though  it  was  so  full  of  its  own  importanoe 
and  the  desire  to  take  ill  our  theatres  <>f  WBX  in  band.  Wo 
did  not  need  to  increase  possibilities  of  friction  as  we  had 
quite  enough  already.  See,  said  (.'.,  there  is  this  eternal 
question  of  tin-  effectives.  We  laughed,  and  C.  said  thai  be 
and  I  must  each  of  as  continue  our  oampaigD  in  favour  of 


4o6  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

our  common  objective.  Had  he  seen  Milner  ?  I  asked. 
Yes,  said  C,  he  had  just  seen  him  and  had  presented  him 
with  a  paper  embodying  his  views.  Were  we  any  nearer 
an  agreement  ?  C.  was  not  sure.  He  thought  that  Milner 
was  much  hampered  by  his  military  entourage,  and  when 
I  named  Z.,  C.  agreed.  But  it  was  difficult,  he  continued, 
to  change  all  the  directing  personalities  in  the  middle  of  a 
war,  and  while  on  the  political  side  there  seemed  no  alter- 
native in  England,  the  P.M.  must  of  course  surround  himself 
with  whom  he  pleased.  C.  said  that  with  Roure's  Report 
he,  C,  had  all  the  knowledge  necessary  for  continuing  the 
discussions  about  effectives,  and  he  meant  to  continue  it. 
He  had  told  Milner  what  he  believed  to  be  the  truth,  and 
there  the  matter  rested.  I  said  that  C.  was  representing 
the  opinion  of  all  the  British  Generals  to  whom  I  had  talked, 
and  it  seemed  to  me  extraordinary  that  this  should  be  the 
situation. 

After  what  X.  had  told  me  I  thought  it  best  not  to 
approach  this  matter  more  closely  for  the  moment,  and 
branched  to  Italy.  Milner,  said  C,  has  taken  away  nine 
battalions,  and  now  proposes  to  relieve  the  divisions  in 
Italy  by  tired  divisions.  C.  meant  to  do  the  same,  and  why 
not  if  there  was  no  fighting  ?  Diaz  had  howled  and  had 
told  him  that  the  Austrians  had  fought  like  lions.  C.  held 
up  his  hands  and  roared  at  the  idea.  Yes,  I  said,  the  best 
opportunity  seemed  to  have  been  lost,  and  by  now  the  chance 
of  doing  anything  this  season  in  the  mountains  had  gone  by. 
Personally,  I  said,  I  hoped  that  Diaz  would  not  move, 
for  if  he  did  and  won  it  meant  little,  and  if  he  lost  we  should 
have  to  rush  down  a  dozen  divisions  and  perhaps  com- 
promise things  in  France.  C.  agreed  with  this  point  of 
view,  but  said  that  Foch  had  been  pushing  Diaz  to  do 
something.  C.  thought  that  the  Austrians  only  asked  to 
be  left  in  peace.  I  agreed,  and  said  that  it  would  suit  us 
best  to  be  able  to  forget  the  Italian  front  altogether.  How- 
ever, I  hoped  to  take  a  look  round,  and  would  let  Mandel 
know  if  there  were  anything  fresh  that  needed  French 
attention.     I  then  rose  to  go,  out  of  respect  for  C.'s  time 


1918]  MAXDEL  ON  CLEMENCEAU  407 

and  his  thickly  strewn  desk,  and  we  said  nice  things  to  each 
other  as  we  parted. 

Mandel  had  asked  me  to  look  in  and  see  him  again  after- 
wards. He  will  have  the  first  communication  for  me  on 
my  return.  M.  pointed  out  that  no  French  Government 
would  permit  the  interference  of  another  Government  in 
the  management  of  its  home  affairs,  and  therefore  C.  had 
to  be  most  particular  about  his  action  respecting  the  British. 
C.  had  never  intrigued,  said  M.  ;  he  had  upset  twenty-three 
Governments  in  fifty  years  of  public  life,  but  always  in  Parlia- 
ment and  openly  from  the  Tribune.  M.  had  been  with  him 
for  fourteen  years  since  the  age  of  eighteen.  M.  thought 
that  the  leitmotiv  of  many  public  men  was  vanity,  and 
he  deplored  the  fact  that  our  terrible  times  had  produced 
no  new  nor  great  men  to  dominate  them.  We  agreed  again 
to  write  to  each  other  with  entire  frankness  and  without 
taking  umbrage  at  plain  speaking. 

In  the  afternoon  with  Mrs.  Leeds,  and  a  pleasant  chat. 
She  told  me  much  of  Queen  Sophie,  late  of  Greece.  She 
says  that  6he  has  remained  a  Prussian  Princess  before  all 
else.  The  messages  signed  S.  and  T.  were  not  Sophie  and 
Tino,  but  Sophie  and  Teotaki  the  Minister.  Most  of  this 
passed  while  Tino  was  very  ill  and  without  his  knowledge. 
The  Queen  had  been  very  good  when  the  crisis  came,  and  had 
behaved  well.  She  even  nursed  Tino,  and  did  not  take  her 
clothes  off  for  a  week.  The  King  was  utterly  devoted  to 
the  youngest  girl  of  six,  and  so  would  not  let  Sophie  go  to 
Germany.  The  King  had  to  cover  all  the  Queen  had  done. 
We  discussed  the  replies  to  the  Austrian  Note. 

In  the  evening  dined  with  Lady  Congreve,  Lord  Jellicoe, 
and  Le  Hoy.  The  Admiral  said  that  an  American  naval 
offioer  who  it  ■>■  Southerner  had  told  him  that  he  had  lived 
forty  yean  before  discovering  that  'darned  Yankee'  was 
not  one  \\«<rd.  .1.  .-ays  that  we  are  two  to  one  against 
Germany  n<>u  at  sea,  and  he  does  not  expect  that  the  Bodies 
will  take  it  (Hi.  Be  agceee  thai  in  material  they  were,  and 
even  are,  nuofa  ahead  of  as.  To-day  Rawly  took  a  large 
hit  X.w   i.i  St.  Quentio  with  6000  prisoners.    Qemenoeau 


4o8  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

was    very    pleased    about    it    when     he    spoke    to    me 
to-day. 

Thursday,  Sept.  19.  Yesterday's  fight  on  the  St.  Quentin 
front  was  by  the  3rd  and  4th  British  Armies  combined,  and 
went  well  on  a  broad  front.  We  are  in  the  advanced  posi- 
tions of  the  Hindenburg  line,  and  if  Foch  is  meditating  the 
Alsace  blow,  we  are  elsewhere — English,  French,  and 
Americans — in  a  position  to  hold  and  threaten  the  enemy 
so  closely  that  he  cannot  detach  much  to  Alsace.  Q.  came 
in  and  talked.  He  seems  to  be  pretty  well  acquainted  with 
French  political  affairs.  A  French  Yellow  Book  is  published 
to-day  on  the  genesis  of  the  Franco-Russian  Alliance  and 
Military  Convention.  Very  interesting  to  those  of  us  who 
remember  the  days  of  1891.  De  Miribel's  Memoire  as  clear 
and  good  as  I  should  have  expected  from  him. 

P.  F.  came  in,  and  we  had  a  long  talk  in  my  rooms,  where  I 
was  laid  up  by  the  usual  results  of  this  d — d  French  food  and 
war  bread.  He  is  back  from  Palestine.  He  thinks  that  our 
efforts  in  the  Turkish  fronts  will  be  concentrated  upon  Mess- 
pot,  of  which  we  can  make  a  flourishing  possession.  There  is 
nothing  to  be  done,  he  thinks,  in  Palestine,  and  even  an 
advance  to  Aleppo  would  do  no  good.  We  were  already 
in  ground  worse  than  Wales,  and  did  not  want  to  search  for 
an  Afghanistan  in  the  Taurus.  Jerusalem  and  its  problems 
were  a  great  interest,  but  there  was  nothing  to  be  made  out ' 
of  the  country  except  on  the  narrow  strip  on  the  coast,  and 
even  there  the  rain  only  came  at  one  time  of  the  year  and 
filled  the  dongas,  causing  spruits  but  being  of  no  real  advan- 
tage to  agriculture.  He  had  met  no  Jews  who  wanted  to 
go  back  to  Palestine.  It  was  only  a  sentimental  thought, 
Zionism,  suited  for  an  after-dinner  speech  by  A.  J.  B.  but 
for  nothing  else.  All  the  officers  returning  from  leave  to 
Palestine  deplored  their  fate,  as  this  theatre  was  like  a  sausage 
with  the  meat  taken  out  now  that  the  best  of  the  troops  had 
been  withdrawn.  As  for  the  Hedjaz,  P.  declared  that  the 
King  of  that  territory  received  some  £300,000  a  month  and 
would  take  nothing  but  English  sovereigns.  His  braves  did 
not  really  fight  unless  they  could  bring  overwhelming  numbers 


1918]  OUR  PARIS  EMBASSY  409 

on  some  small  Turkish  post.     They  simply  played  about  on 

their  camels  and  were  picturesque.  We  had  effected  no 
useful  purpose  by  going  to  Palestine,  and  our  situation  was 
inferior  to  that  when  we  had  the  Sinai  desert  in  front  of  us 
instead  of  behind.  We  agreed  that  Allenby  was  a  most 
brilliant  General.  P.  thought  that  the  Turks  would  be 
pleased  if  we  trekked  north  to  light  them,  as  they  would  then 
not  suffer  from  long  and  flimsy  lines  of  communication  along 
a  rotten  little  railway.  Now  that  our  white  infantry  had 
largely  departed,  the  tone  of  the  Army  was  Anglo-Indian 
and  Australian. 

Friday,  Sept.  20.  The  news  from  our  front  continues  good. 
Haig's  Armies  have  taken  10,000  prisoners  and  60  guns  in 
two  days,  and  a  heavy  attack  by  Boche,  including  Branden- 
burg, divisions  has  been  bloodily  repulsed  by  the  Guards, 
3rd  and  37th  Divisions.  Le  Roy  came  in  early  for  a  talk. 
He  leaves  for  Italy  to-night,  will  be  away  ten  days,  and  then 
clears  up  here  and  leaves  permanently.  His  position  has 
been  much  altered  since  Derby  came.  When  Bertie  was  ill 
Le  Roy  had  to  do  all  sorts  of  jobs  which  were  not  in  his  line, 
and  he  was  the  intimate,  as  I  had  known  at  the  time,  of  all 
the  leading  French  Ministers.  He  was  on  good  terms  with 
Haig.  and  was  a  constant  visitor  to  the  front.  He  had  a 
mass  of  work  which  kept  him  busy  all  day.  Since  Derby 
came  Le  Roy  had  effaced  himself  purposely  and  Derby  had 
been  very  active,  having  every  sort  of  person  to  the  Embassy, 
and  occupying  himself  much  with  his  lists  of  luncheon  in- 
vitations. Even  Albert  Thomas  had  been  a  guest,  and  the 
Embassy  was  resuming  its  old  social  functions,  which  was 
something. 

David  Henderson  will  succeed  him.  David  would  remain 
bi  Commandant  of  British  troops  in  Paris,  and  in  adminis- 
trative charge  ol  British  troops  at  Nancy  and  Bordeaux. 
But  the  Military  Attaoheship  would  and  should  remain  the 
mroi    morceau,  because    the    posl    of    Militai\    Attache   meant 

more  to  the  French  than  any  other.     David  would  have 
charge  under  II.  ES.  oi  all  the  military  missions  in  Paris.    I 

asked   how    many   there  were,  and    Le   Roy   said   he   knew  of 


4io  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

forty-seven,  but  that  a  new  one  appeared  almost  daily,  and 
that  every  person  and  department  at  home  pretended  to 
have  their  own.  Poor  Spiers  was  rather  shaky.  He  also 
was  brule  with  Clemenceau,  and  since  Foch  had  left  Paris, 
Spiers 's  utility  had  been  reduced.  Versailles  was  mere 
camouflage  now,  it  was  only  useful  as  a  sort  of  receptacle 
for  complaints.  It  could  always  be  agreed  to  refer  a  dis- 
puted point  to  Versailles.  Versailles  took  a  long  time  to 
consider  the  point.  There  was  no  one  there  of  any  weight 
except  General  Bliss,  and  nobody  took  an  opinion  from 
Versailles  when  they  got  it.  It  was  really  a  useless  and 
expensive  body,  but  it  hung  up  difficult  questions,  and  so 
time  was  gained,  and  when  time  had  elapsed  people  were 
thinking  about  other  things. 

X .  came  to  see  me  after  a  talk  with  our  officials .  He  thought 
that  though  the  War  Cabinet  had  vowed  and  protested 
that  they  would  not  and  could  not  keep  up  our  60  divisions 
next  year,  they  would  in  the  end  be  compelled  to  keep  them 
up.  It  would  be  with  us  as  it  had  been  with  the  French,  who 
had  protested  in  1916  that  the  French  Army  would  peter  out 
by  the  close  of  1917,  and  yet  here  we  were  at  the  close  of 
1918  and  the  French  Army  stronger  than  ever,  and  the  1920 
class  not  yet  called  up.  It  was  a  question  of  goodwill.  He 
found  Y  almost  a  pacificist,  and  mainly  intent  on  finishing 
the  war  almost  on  any  terms.  Then,  I  said,  some  of  us  and 
the  French  are  not  far  wrong  in  believing  that  we  have  an 
unconsciously  defeatist  War  Cabinet  ?  X.  hardly  denied 
it.  It  was  impossible,  he  said,  to  understand  the  mentality 
of  our  Government  which  pined  for  peace  now,  and  in- 
stead of  taking  steps  to  secure  peace  were  wobbling  and 
wriggling  about  doing  their  duty  to  the  Army.  I  thought 
that  the  venerable  tradition  of  England  fighting  with  her 
fleet  and  only  sending  a  contingent  to  the  Continent  still 
retained  its  debilitating  influence,  and  that  the  War  Cabinet 
would  not  understand  that  we  were  defending  London  on 
the  Meuse. 

Thursday's  Morning  Post  with  my  article  on  infantry 
strengths  and  an  admirable  leader  on  the  same  question  is 


1918]  TANKS  AND  AIR  FORCE  411 

greatly  approved  here,  and  will  help  the  French  and  our 
soldiers.  I  went  round  to  David  Henderson's  office  and  had 
a  talk  with  him.  He  is  glad  to  be  back  with  the  Army  on 
any  terms  after  his  long  stay  with  the  R.A.F.,  but  has  not 
spoken  much  French  for  twenty -live  years  and  is  not  yet 
quite  clear  what  his  duties  are.  He  pointed  out  to  me  a 
huge  list  of  the  missions  now  in  Paris.  But  he  thinks  that 
he  will  not  have  to  do  many  of  Le  Roy's  old  duties  as  we 
now  have  an  Ambassador  to  do  the  talking  with  French 
Ministers.  I  found  David  quite  with  me  about  the  proper 
place  of  the  Tanks  and  the  Air  Force  in  winning  the  war, 
i.e.  that  they  were  both  secondary  arms.  When  he  had 
argued  on  these  lines  to  the  War  Cabinet  formerly  they  had 
looked  down  their  noses.  They  did  not  like  being  told  that 
they  could  not  win  the  war  in  the  air.  When  I  spoke  in 
Foch's  sense  of  speeding  down  all  programmes  which  could 
only  materialise  in  1920  or  later,  David  said  that  Winston 
had  made  a  proposal  in  the  same  sense  last  year  and  that 
it  had  not  been  accepted.     But  1917  is  not  1918. 

Lunched  with  David  and  Le  Roy.  We  talked  about  the 
duties  here.  Le  Roy  told  two  good  stories.  One  of  Arnold 
Forster.  The  latter  had  called  up  Neville  Lyttelton  at  the 
time  of  the  S.A.  stores  trouble  to  explain  some  of  his  papers. 
One  was  marked  f.o.b.  '  Do  you  know  what  f.o.b.  means  ?  ' 
asked  A.  F.  '  No,  I  don't,'  replied  Neville.  '  Ah  !  '  said 
A.  F.,  '  I  suppose  you  would  if  it  had  been  l.b.w.' 

The  other  story  was  of  Harry  Higgins  and  a  famous  and 
beautiful  prima  donna.    Harry  was  trying  to  engage  her  for 
1  he  opera,  and  she  held  out  for  £200  a  night.     '  But  we  only 
nt  you  to  xi»<],  you  know,'  rasped  out  Harry  in  her  ear. 

Afterwards  met  D'Eyncourt  of  the  Admiralty,  Swinton, 
and  Bertie  Stern—all  tank  enthusiasts  and  went  at  them 
about  the  programmes  for  1919  and  our  want  of  infantry, 
i  bold  them  thai  the  extravagant  programmes  for  tanks  and 
bombing  squadrons  were  going  to  reduce  our  infantry  again 
to  danger  point,  and  thai  enthusiastic  specialists  like  them 
had  got  hold  of  our  ignoranl  Wax  Cabinet  and  had  made 
them  think  thai  we  were  going  to  win  the  war  with  machines. 

VOL.  if. 


4i2  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

We  had  a  good  wrangle.  D'Eyncourt  admitted  that  one 
wanted  '  some  '  infantry  to  follow  tanks,  and  declared  that 
tanks  could  go  wherever  infantry  could  go,  an  idea  at  which 
I  scoffed,  and  even  Swinton  did  not  agree.  Some  hard 
speaking.  Swinton  not  returning  to  America  with  Reading. 
He  is  on  the  Tank  Board.  I  suppose  it  will  be  a  Ministry 
before  I  get  home. 

Another  story  of  Harry  Higgins  and  a  proposer  of  a 
candidate  for  the  Beef  Steak  Club.  '  He  is  very  popular  at 
all  his  Clubs,'  urged  the  proposer.  '  Ah  !  Toilet  Clubs,  I 
presume,'  growled  H.  H. 

Saturday,  Sept.  21.  Wrote  an  article  on  '  Invincible 
France.'  Lady  Johnstone  turned  up  from  England.  I  gave 
Lady  X.  a  lecture  on  her  remarks  concerning  Haig,  telling 
her  that  we  must  all  support  soldiers  in  command  no  matter 
what  we  thought  of  them.  Colonel  Bigham  dined  with  me. 
He  is  in  charge  of  the  dissemination  of  Intelligence  to  our 
Allies  here.  His  Staff  has  grown  to  fourteen,  of  whom  he 
says  young  Hartington  is  the  best.  Formerly  Le  Roy  with 
one  or  two  men,  and  Bigham  with  about  the  same,  did  the 
work  now  done  by  the  forty-seven  British  Committees  in 
Paris.  The  evacuation  of  Paris  by  the  British  will  be  more 
difficult  than  that  of  Calais.  Bigham  does  not  suppose  that 
he  knows  all  the  agencies  created  here.  He  cannot  think 
why  Winston  should  constantly  fly  over  here  and  stay  for 
several  days  while  he  has  a  man  like  Sir  Charles  Ellis  to 
represent  him.  I  saw  Cecil  Higgins  at  David's  H.Q.  He  is 
much  wasted  in  his  present  work  there  and  is  a  good  man. 
The  victories  of  Franchet  d'Esperey  at  Salonika  and  of 
Allenby  in  Palestine  add  to  the  prevailing  happiness. 

Sunday,  Sept.  22.  Heavy  rain.  Completed  a  second 
article  on  France.  General  Kentish,  commanding  166th 
Brigade,  55th  Division  (Jeudwine's),  came  in  and  we  had  a 
long  talk  on  infantry  and  training  matters,  of  which  he 
knows  much. 

Monday,  Sept.  23.  We  are  pretty  well  all  now  up  against 
the  Hindenburg  line,  and  are  taking  our  time  to  prepare 
decisive  action  against  it.     The  weather  more  propitious 


1918]  INDUSTRY  AFTER  THE  WAR  413 

this  morning.  Allenby  has  practically  rounded  up  and 
destroyed  or  captured  all  the  Turkish  Army  in  Palestine  ; 
it  is  said  that  18,000  prisoners  and  120  guns  are  taken.  In 
Macedonia  the  pursuit  of  the  Bulgars  continues.  Stern 
tells  me  the  success  was  due  to  tanks — the  Renaults.  They 
must  be  good  hill-climbers  !  Sammy  Scott  turns  up  from 
London.  Get  my  Italian  vise.  An  American  correspondent 
just  in  from  St.  Mihiel  Bays  that  a  big  move  at  Verdun  and 
another  in  Alsace  are  preparing,  and  that  every  one  is 
yapping  about  them.  He  declares  that  the  Yanks  are  very 
vexed  at  not  having  been  allowed  to  go  on  after  the  12th 
and  do  a  big  thing.  They  are  spoiling  to  win  a  bigger  battle 
than  any  one  else.  Will  they  grow  tired  of  the  war  ?  I 
asked.     Not  for  a  year  anyway,  he  replied. 

In  the  evening  a  long  talk  with  Mrs.  Leeds.  She  has  heard 
from  the  Grand  Duchess  George  that  the  Tsaritsa  and  her 
four  daughters  were  burnt  alive.  The  Grand  Duke  George 
and  two  other  Grand  Dukes  are  in  prison  at  Petrograd, 
supplied  with  food  three  times  a  week  by  the  Swedish  and 
Danish  Legations.  They  are  to  be  murdered  if  anything 
happens  to  the  leading  Bolshevists.  The  Tsar  was  shot 
before  his  son's  eyes,  and  when  the  latter  screamed  he  was 
shot  too.  The  Grand  Duchess  says  that  she  lives  a  life  of 
perfect  torture.  We  discussed  the  origin  of  the  Russian 
Revolution  and  the  part  played  in  it  by  various  people. 
She  declares  that  it  was  the  mistake  of  English  and  Ameri- 
cans to  promote  the  Revolution,  in  apparent  ignorance 
of  the  fact  that  Russia  was  not  ripe  for  it. 

The  question  of  French  industry  after  the  war  arouses 
much  interest.  The  main  data  are  the  loss  of  2,000,000  men  ; 
the  transfer  of  most  of  the  workers  to  the  war  factories  of  the 
weel  and  south  of  France  ;   the  estimate  that  it  will  take 

:; ,000  workmen  eighteen  months  to  repair  the  devastated 

territory  ;  and  that  to  avoid  an  industrial  and  perhaps  social 
catastrophe  when  war  industries  stop  there  must  be  a  plan 
of  mobilisation  for  peace  as  there  was  for  war,  which  will 

continue  for  Some   months  until  the  national  machinery  is 

renewed      [f  1     sail  rtands,  double  the  machinery  of  1914, 


4i4  THE  ST.  MIHIEL  OPERATION 

and  the  question  is  to  provide  the  method,  order,  and  organ- 
isation for  the  transformation  scene.  This  will  probably 
have  to  be  provided  by  Government  action.  The  country 
which  best  succeeds  in  this  task  is  likely  to  take  the  first 
industrial  place  in  the  world.  Ernest  Lavisse  at  the  Marne 
celebration  at  the  Trocadero  yesterday  told  the  schools  that 
the  mot  d'ordre  of  youth  hereafter  will  be  intensive  work. 
I  have  not  heard  that  right  note  struck  by  any  British 
statesman  yet. 

I  do  not  think  that  I  have  yet  jotted  the  fact  down 
that  almost  every  American  considers  that  compulsory 
national  service  will  be  maintained  in  America  after  the 
war. 

It  struck  me  to-day  that  the  stake-burning  affair  has  put 
Mrs.  Leeds  still  more  off  the  throne  of  Lithuania,  as  she 
does  not  relish  frizzling.  She  prefers  England  and  liberty 
to  a  crown  and  a  stake.  But  she  would  go  if  she  were  told 
that  it  was  her  duty. 

Tuesday,  Sept.  24.  Wrote  an  article  on  Allenby's  victory. 
Heard  from  U.S.H.Q.  here  that  my  articles  on  Pershing's 
victory  had  given  much  satisfaction,  and  had  been  read  with 
the  greatest  interest.  They  had  been  sent  on  with  but  few 
excisions. 

I  looked  in  to  see  Commodore  Heaton -Ellis  at  the  French 
Admiralty,  to  ask  for  my  riding  orders  in  naval  affairs 
if  the  Italians  spoke  of  things  of  the  sea.  H.  E.  said  that 
the  desire  of  our  Admiralty  was  still  to  have  a  British  C.-in-C. 
in  the  Mediterranean,  but  that  the  Italians  would  not  agree. 
We  had  two  Agamemnons  at  Mudros  and  small  craft.  They 
were  under  the  French  Admiral  Gauchet,  who  was  with 
seven  Dreadnoughts  at  Corfu.  The  Italians  were  at  Taranto 
mainly.  The  Austrians  mainly  at  Cattaro.  The  Germans 
might  possibly  make  three  Russian  Dreadnoughts  fit  to  fight, 
but  more  likely  only  one,  together  with  some  smaller  ships, 
and  then  there  was  still  the  Goeben,  and  for  all  we  knew  the 
Russian  Black  Sea  dockyards  were  working.  We  want  to 
give  Jellicoe  the  command,  and  the  French  will  agree  but 
not  the  Italians.    This  explains  the  Admiral's  presence  here. 


1918]  NAVAL  AFFAIRS  415 

H.  E.  says  that  he  believes  that  the  Austrians  could  slip  by 
Taranto  at  any  time,  though  that  the  Italians  will  tell  me 
differently.  But  it  will  be  hard  for  the  enemy  to  bring  about 
any  conjoint  enemy  action,  as  Corfu  stands  in  the  way,  and 
our  ships  at  Mudros,  apart  from  Taranto.  The  Italian  police- 
is  to  keep  the  ships  in  port.  The  destruction  of  an  Austrian 
Dreadnought  and  the  damage  of  another  by  small  craft  have 
fortified  Admiral  Di  Revel's  position  in  this  matter.  Mike 
Seymour  commands  at  Mudros  under  the  French.  There 
were  some  Boche  submarines  in  the  Black  Sea.  H.  E. 
showed  me  a  wire  to  Bay  that  Allenby  had  reached  Haifa 
and  Acre  and  had  32,000  prisoners.  Where  will  he  stop  1 
H.  E.  thinks  that  if  he  reaches  Damascus  the  Turks  will  cave 
in,  and  he  mentioned  that  some  experts  believed  it. 

Bought  a  book  or  two  for  the  journey.     Leaving  the  Gare 
de  Lyon  for  Padua  8.30  r.M. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 
ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN,  AUTUMN  1918 

Journey  to  Italy — The  British  Mission  near  Padua — Headquarters  of 
the  British  Army  at  Lonedo — Talk  with  General  Gathorne-Hardy — 
The  military  situation  in  Italy — Visit  to  the  Comando  Supremo — 
Talks  with  Generals  Diaz  and  Badoglio — Visit  to  the  Duke  of  Aosta — 
The  new  Italian  liaison  service — The  French  Mission — The  Bulgarians 
ask  for  an  Armistice — French  and  Italian  efforts  during  the  war — 
Italian  strengths — Journey  to  Rome — Talks  with  Sir  Rennell  Rodd 
and  the  Embassy  Staff — Sir  Courtauld  Thomson — Distribution  of 
Italian  and  Austrian  Armies — Mr.  Harris  on  Vatican  affairs — An 
Italian  painter — Talks  with  General  Zupelli — A  visit  to  the  Vatican — 
Talks  with  Cardinal  Gasparri  and  Monsignore  Cerretti — Dr.  Malagodi's 
views — Mr.  William  Miller — Count  de  Salis  on  the  Vatican — Conversa- 
tion with  Signor  de  Martino — The  General  of  the  Jesuits — Talk  with 
Signor  Bergomini — A  visit  to  Cardinal  Gasquet — Father  Philip 
Lanedon — Our  underpaid  diplomats — Observations  on  the  Vatican, 
Italy,  and  foreign  Powers — German  proposal  for  an  Armistice. 

Thursday,  Sept.  26.  Left  Paris  Tuesday  night,  and  after 
two  nights  and  a  day  in  the  train  reached  Padua  to-day  about 
8  a.m.,  and  after  a  snack  motored  to  our  mission  which  is  at  a 
pleasing  capua  about  ten  miles  out.  Here  I  found  Delme 
Radcliffe,  Major  Finlay,  and  the  rest  of  the  staff,  as  well  as 
Le  Roy-Lewis.  D.  R.  seemed  cross  that  I  had  not  arranged 
my  trip  through  him,  and  was  not  at  all  forthcoming. 
Colonel  Grossi,  Chief  of  the  Press  Bureau,  had  met  me  at 
the  station  and  was  very  pleasant.  I  am  in  the  hands  of 
Lieut.-Col.  Ponza  di  San  Martino  of  the  G.S.  and  of  Captain 
Scaravaglio.  Diaz  returns  from  Rome  late  to-night,  also 
his  Chief  of  the  Staff,  General  Badoglio,  who  is  well 
spoken  of. 

Nearly  all  my  old  friends  of  the  Italian  G.H.Q.  have  been 
moved  on,  and  the  good  practice  has  been  instituted  of 

416 


1918]  THE  POSITION  OF  ITALY  41 7 

making  staff  officers  revert  to  troops  for  practical  experience. 
The  French  officer,  Colonel  Griiss,  is  still  here  and  I  must  try 
to  see  him.  The  brilliant  Russian  Enkel  has  gone  off  to 
command  a  Serb  regiment  at  Salonika.  Lancelot  Lowthei 
was  my  travelling  companion  from  Paris  ;  he  was  good 
company,  but  he  was  doubled  up  with  a  naval  officer  and  I 
with  an  Italian.  No  restaurant  car,  and  not  too  much  sleep 
these  last  two  nights.  1  lind  that  we  have  now  R.T.O.s  at 
Modane  and  Turin  and  they  look  after  us.  Snow  on  the  hills 
near  Modane.  and  every  day  powdering  lower:  the  cattle 
are  coming  down  to  the  lower  valleys.  Evidently  the 
mountain  fighting  is  over  for  this  season. 

Why  do  the  ewes  here  lamb  in  September  I  Or  is  it  a 
second  crop  ?  I  find  that  our  divisions  are  all  changing  : 
48th,  which  got  into  a  mess  last  June  at  Asiago,  may  bo 
broken  up  ;  7th  and  23rd  to  go  to  France  ;  names  of  re- 
placing divisions  not  yet  announced. 

There  seem  to  be  63  divisions  of  Austrians  round  the 
frontier.  The  Italians  have  55  or  so,  and  the  case  for  an 
Italian  offensive  still  needs  proving  to  me.  There  is  precious 
little  war  going  on.  One  can  motor  along  the  Austrian 
Piave  front  and  not  be  shot  at  much.  I  believe  the  Italians 
have  lost  over  400,000  killed,  and  perhaps  three  times  that 
number  wounded  since  the  war  began.  The  Arditi  or  6hock 
troops  are  new  to  me.  They  are  young  picked  men  with 
black  fezzes,  except  at  the  front  where  all  have  the  casque. 
Considering  how  Italy  has  suffered  from  specialising  her 
Alpini  and  Bersaglieri,  I  doubt  the  wisdom  of  skimming  the 
line  of  its  best  elements  again. 

J  find  that  twenty  trains  a  day,  each  carrying  some  400 
men,  or  half  a  battalion,  is  about  tho  best  that  has  been  put 
through  from  .Modane.  Each  train  thirty-five  carriages. 
1  from  Modane  to  tin-  plains  the  system  is  electrified,  but 
from  9  a.m.  to  1   P.M.  ea«h  day  there  is  a  break  for  repairing 

the  line.     Riven  are  a  little  under  half  full.     Roads  in 
,-ll.  1,1  order      Every  sign  of  abundant  crops,  but  meat 
is  reported  Boaroe.     Much  wood  being  out,  and  this  1-  re 
placing  coal  in  housef  and  some  factories.     I  saw  a  large 


4i8  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

number  of  new  factories  of  all  sorts  near  the  line.  Nearly 
all  the  work  in  the  fields  and  on  the  roads  is  being  done  by 
women.  I  am  told  that  all  but  the  principal  railways  have 
adapted  themselves  to  wood,  and  do  the  best  they  can. 

Lunched  at  the  Sturgeon  Inn.  Motored  via  Vicenza  to 
Lonedo,  the  G.H.Q.  of  the  B.E.F.  Italy.  Cavan  still  away, 
but  I  found  General  Gathorne-Hardy,  his  Chief  of  Staff,  and 
we  had  a  good  talk  after  tea,  another  man  looking  after 
SanMartino. 

The  H.Q.  are  magnificently  situated.  The  G.S.  is  in  a 
very  commanding  building  standing  high  above  the  Astico 
valley,  and  with  quite  gorgeous  panoramas  on  all  sides.  It 
is  a  fairly  large  palace,  with  long  and  broad  flights  of  great 
stone  steps  leading  down  the  hill,  and  with  an  upper  balcony 
and  a  great  terrace,  perfectly  ideal  for  all  sorts  of  purposes. 
Is  it  wonderful  that  nobody  much  in  Italy  wants  to  fight  in 
such  surroundings  ?  I  begin  to  understand  Hannibal  better. 
The  day  was  perfection,  and  after  a  morning  fog  the  sun  had 
come  out.  We  were  within  range  of  the  Austrian  position, 
whence  our  sentries  must  have  been  visible  through  a 
telescope,  but  I  scarcely  heard  a  gun  all  day.  The  Prince  of 
Wales  is  here,  but  only  Claud  Hamilton  of  his  party  was  at 
tea.  They  are  going  for  two  months  to  the  Australians  and 
Canadians. 

G.  H.  was  interested  when  I  told  him  that  Diaz  was  re- 
turning to-night.  Delme  had  said  not  for  two  days.  G.  H. 
was  very  anxious  to  know  what  the  Cabinet  at  Rome  had 
decided.  The  British  were  awkwardly  situated,  for  they 
had  said  that  they  would  take  away  their  divisions  and  sub- 
stitute tired  troops  if  nothing  were  done  in  Italy,  and  now 
the  move  was  suspended  because  a  Franco-American  attack 
from  the  Meuse  to  the  Suippe  had  begun  to-day.  Foch  had, 
as  I  knew,  pressed  for  an  attack.  G.  H. 's  instinct  was  against 
it,  as  mine  was,  we  thinking  that  Diaz  had  missed  his  market 
which  was  about  July  15  last.  There  were  fourteen  inches 
of  snow  on  the  high  mountains  two  nights  ago.  The  only 
chance  of  doing  any  good  in  these  mountain  attacks  is  to 
put  an  attack  right  through,  and  seize  the  next  ridge.     It 


1918]  GATHORNE-HARDY'S  VIEWS  419 

is  fatal  to  halt  half-way  in  the  valley  below.  It  was  now 
too  late,  provided  the  autumn  remained  normal,  to  do  any- 
thing on  the  mountain  front.  In  the  plains  the  rains  would 
normally  begin  about  October  15,  and  would  continue  till 
December  15  or  so.  From  then  on  to  February  16  the  Bodies 
might  try  something,  but  it  was  only  a  short  spell,  and  any 
Boche  troops  earmarked  for  the  West  had  to  clear  by 
February  18.  as  they  had  this  year  for  the  Boche  March 
offensive.  G.  H.  thought  that  we  might  pack  off  several 
divisions  about  the  same  date  for  France.  Our  men  liked 
Italy  ;  they  had  had  a  very  easy  time,  and  had  got  on 
capitally  with  the  people,  who  had  not  made  one  claim 
against  them.  But  the  men  were  tired  of  doing  nothing, 
and  so  were  pleased  to  return  to  France  after  ten  months 
here.  From  some  regimental  officers  I  heard  the  reverse 
later.  The  vino  has  caught  on,  and  so  have  the  girls.  But 
the  French  Bay  that  whenever  they  talk  to  girls  they  find 
an  Italian  standing  by  with  a  knife. 

G.  H.  thought  it  possible  that  the  Italian  Cabinet  might 
decide  to  attack,  to  meet  Foch's  wishes  and  also  from  pride 
and  sense  of  shame,  for  Italians  did  not  like  inaction  while 
all  the  other  Allied  fronts  were  moving.  But  there  was  the 
fact  that  it  was  too  late  in  the  season  to  do  anything  in  the 
mountain-,  while  on  the  plains  the  Austrians  had  an  appar- 
ently superior  force  and  a  relatively  short  front.  Was  it 
worth  the  risk  ?  We  thought  not,  the  conditions  being  as 
tiny  an-  to  'lay.  The  Austrians  had  sent  four  divisions  to 
France,  and  probably  six,  but  the  Italian  intelligence  from 
the  Austrian  rear  was  poor  and  the  figures  were  uncertain. 
We  had  >- 1  i  1 1  three  divisions  in  Italy,  the  French  only  two. 
In  comparisons  of  Austrian  and  Italian  forces  our  five  were 
usually  omittted.  Our  strengths  were  well  maintained,1  but 
on  the  nine  battalions  per  division  ba^is.  while  the  Italians 
and  Austrians  bad  I-  i"  13  battalions  per  division.    G.  H. 

1  bought  t  he  reduol  ion  early  1  his  year  of  OUT  Army  from  12  to 
!'  battalion     per  division   was  a    had  egg  ami   had  done  in- 

.  iru'-noil  office  ns  told  ine   battalions  were  only  780|  and   trench 
100. 


42o  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

finite  harm.  I  explained  to  him  how  impossible  it  was  for 
me  to  denounce  the  plan  before  it  was  carried  out,  and  the 
trickery  that  was  perpetrated  by  the  War  Cabinet  at  the 
expense  of  our  Army. 

G.  H.  thought  that  there  were  Austrians  and  Austrians. 
The  Hungarians,  Croats,  and  German  Austrians,  Bosniaks, 
etc.,  fought  well.  This  H.Q.  Staff  of  ours  is  still  a  little 
under  the  impression  of  the  temporary  capture  of  some  of  our 
48th  Division  trenches  by  the  Austrians  last  June.  Italian 
officers  have  told  me  that  though  they  now  have  two  divi- 
sions of  Czechs  and  Czecho-Slovaks  in  their  Army,  the  Czechs 
against  them  fight  well.  The  only  difference  is  that  they 
surrender  when  fairly  rounded  up,  while  the  Hungarian  pre- 
fers to  go  on  fighting  and  die.  An  Austrian  on  the  Montello 
was  found  still  working  his  machine  gun  though  he  had  had 
a  leg  smashed  by  a  shell  thirty-six  hours  before.  The  Czechs 
when  asked  why  they  fight  reply  that  it  is  their  oath  that 
makes  them,  and  when  told  that  they  could  safely  give  in- 
formation they  often  refused  for  the  same  reason.  No,  they 
say,  it  is  true  that  our  officers  are  no  longer  here  to  know,  but 
God  will  know.  The  old  iron  discipline  of  the  Austrian  Army 
is  still  apparently  maintained.  Every  Czech  captured  by  the 
Austrians  is  immediately  hanged.  In  appearance,  clothing, 
boots,  etc.,  the  prisoners  seem  to  be  very  well  cared  for  and 
well  fed. 

The  Italians  came  back  from  Caporetto  with  only  2200 
guns  all  told.  Now  they  have  over  5000  again  and  a 
much  shorter  line  to  hold,  but  the  calibres  of  the  heavies  are 
far  too  many.  Heavies  have  been  drawn  from  wherever 
they  could  be  taken.  G.  H.  thought  that  our  men  would  be 
on  the  Piave  during  the  winter  and  be  replaced  by  Italians 
in  the  mountain  zone.  A  thin  line  could  hold  the  latter 
during  the  winter.  Our  mountain  equipment  is  in  store  and 
will  do  for  the  new  troops.  In  our  present  positions  we  do 
not  need  it.  G.  H.  agreed  with  me  that  we  should  attack 
the  Trentino  and  control  the  outlets  at  least  from  the  Sugana 
to  the  Lagarina  valleys  before  attacking  again  in  the  plains. 
It  had  been  proved  by  experience  that  we  could  not  march 


1918]  MALARIA  AND  FURLOUGH  421 

east  and  leave  this  threat  upon  our  flank  and  rear.  Cavan 
appears  to  hold  the  same  views  as  G.  H.  in  all  these  matters. 
G.  H.  said  that  Diaz  had  been  most  helpful  in  every  way, 
and  that  Badoglio  was  a  good  man.  He  is  forty-live,  and 
has  held  every  sort  of  command  of  troops. 

Motoring  back  San  Martino  told  me  that  some  20,000  of 
the  3rd  Army  and  15,000  of  the  8th  had  been  laid  up  by 
malaria  on  the  Isonzo  during  the  first  fortnight  of  this  month. 
The  deaths  were  only  4  per  cent,  of  the  cases,  but  some  15  per 
cent,  of  the  forces  named  were  down  with  it.  We  passed 
great  numbers  of  men  going  on  leave,  and  San  M.  said  that 
they  meant  a  permanent  reduction  of  200,000  men  at  the 
front.  The  Austrians  have  nearly  the  same  furloughs,  so  the 
two  balance.  The  men  had  two  furloughs  during  the  year, 
one  of  fifteen,  the  other  of  ten  days,  but  the  days  taken  in 
reaching  and  returning  from  home  were  not  counted.  As  it 
might  take  six  days  for  Sicilians  to  reach  their  homes,  there 
was  a  serious  loss  in  strength.  But  the  moral  effect  had  been 
admirable.  Stopped  at  Vicenza  for  a  spell  to  admire  again 
the  ever  fresh  glories  of  Palladio.  Dined  with  San  Martino 
and  other  Italian  officers.  They  all  assured  me  that  the 
Army  and  public  were  quite  prepared  for  Diaz  to  accept  the 
directives  of  Foch,  and  thought  it  the  right  course,  but  they 
admitted  that  nothing  had  been  published  to  show  that  Foch 
had  any  real  control  here,  and,  as  a  fact,  Foch  has  pressed 
for  an  attack  and  it  has  not  come. 

\\ V  had  some  talk  of  effectives.  The  Italians  have  called 
uji  twenty-six  classes,  and  as  a  class  is  nominally  250,000 
when  it  is  first  called — actually  it  is  greatly  reduced  by 
emigration — I  asked  how  it  was  that  there  were  still  only 
the  value  (if  55  divisions  in  the  Army.  Allowing  for 
1,400,000  casualties,  of  which  perhaps  some  800,000  per- 
manent loss,  where  were  the  250,000  -26 — waste?  I  could 
not  get  the  answer  to  this  conundrum,  but  no  doubt,  as 
with  us,  the  Departments  have  drained  the  Bupply  of  men, 
and  Turin  is  said  t<>  be  full  of  embusquis.  They  admit 
that  over  5,(1110,1100  men  have  been  called  up,  bu1  55  divi- 
i  i  13,000  bayonets  each  only  give  715,000  infantry, 


422  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

and  they  agree  that  the  Austrians  have  900  battalions  ali 
told,  including  other  fronts  and  the  interior. 

I  should  like  to  see  a  very  definite  signed  statement  about 
Italian  effective  fighting  troops  actually  on  the  field  before 
advocating  an  Italian  offensive.  Most  of  the  men  who 
deserted  home  after  Caporetto  are  said  to  have  returned. 

Friday,  Sept.  27.  Last  night  at  3.30  a.m.  Padua  was 
bombed.  The  metallic  noise  of  the  Austrian  machines  was 
strident  and  near.  Much  scurrying.  The  Archies  replied 
late  and  feebly.  I  heard  the  first  bomb  or  maroon  before 
the  first  Archie.     Church  bells  rang  the  '  all  clear  '  later. 

Nothing  to  eat  or  drink  in  the  Hotel  Fanti,  and  no  hot 
bath.  Went  off  at  10  to  the  Comando  Supremo,  and  visited 
in  succession  General  Diaz,  the  de  facto  C.-in-C. ;  General 
Badoglio,  the  Chief  of  Staff;  General  Cipriano,  a  sort  of 
political  Chief  of  Staff  and  so-called  adjoint  to  Badoglio ; 
also  the  Heads  of  various  other  bureaux  and  services,  mainly 
of  operations  and  intelligence,  and  I  was  shown  the  distribu- 
tion maps  of  all  fronts,  including  yesterday's  changes  on  the 
French  front  where  the  Americans  have  done  well. 

General  Diaz  was  very  cordial.  We  had  a  talk  first  of 
events  which  had  passed  since  we  last  met.  His  wound  was 
not  severe,  and  his  23rd  Army  Corps  came  back  from  the 
Carso  in  good  order.  After  reminiscences  we  came  to  the 
situation.  Diaz  told  me  that  he  had  55  divisions  and  the 
Austrians  63  to  69.  The  doubt  was  about  6  Austrian  divi- 
sions of  which  he  showed  me  the  numbers.  The  enemy  had 
670  battalions,  and  the  other  6  divisions  would  add  68  bat- 
talions to  the  number,  total  738.  The  Austrians  had  other 
divisions,  including  some  15  in  the  Ukraine,  3|  in  Albania, 
etc.,  and  their  total  was  90 \  divisions.  Their  strengths 
were  kept  up.     There  were  probably  four  in  France. 

I  saw  no  signs  of  the  Cabinet  Council  in  Rome  having 
urged  Diaz  to  attack.  He  thinks  it  a  fixed  point  in  the 
situation  that  the  Austrians  have  promised  the  Germans  to 
keep  up  their  strength  against  Italy,  and  they  have  done  so. 
He  is  not  in  a  position  to  attack,  having  neither  superiority 
of  force  nor  a  good  opportunity.     Did  I  think  the  reverse  % 


1918]        A  TALK  WITH  GENERAL  DIAZ  423 

I  said  that  I  did  not,  and  had  said  in  France  what  he  was 
saying  now.  That  is  the  position,  but  this  does  not  mean, 
he  added,  that  1  shall  not  seize  the  first  opportunity  to  attack. 
He  lias  evidently  schooled  himself  to  accept  the  changing  of 
the  English  divisions,  though  I  don't  think  that  he  likes  it 
much,  because  he  says  that  he  knew  the  men  with  whom  he 
was  working  and  they  knew  the  ground.  He  thought  that 
operations  in  the  mountains  might  go  on  longer  than  I 
thought,  and  said  that  last  year  they  had  fought  hard  up  to 
mid-December.  He  admitted  that  last  year  the  weather  was 
exceptional.  As  for  the  snow  this  year,  it  had  only  fallen 
as  heavily  as  I  suggested  west  of  Lake  Garda,  but  not  yet- 
east  of  it.  Looking  at  the  General's  great  distribution  map 
hanging  behind  his  chair,  it  is  certainly  very  clear  that  the 
mass  of  the  enemy  is  between  Lake  Garda  and  Mt.  Grappa, 
and  the}7  may  still  meditate  something  before  the  weather 
closes  down. 

We  then  talked  of  Foch  and  the  unity  of  command.  He 
admitted  that  Italy  was  somewhat  apart  from  the  French 
front,  and  that  distances  were  long  and  Switzerland  inter- 
vened. This  affair  belonged  to  Governments,  he  said,  and 
'  we  were  reall}-  still  in  the  region  of  accords.'  These  worked 
well,  and  he  was  closely  in  touch  with  Foch  and  able  to  suit 
lus  strategy  to  Foch's,  but  he  did  not  suggest  to  me  that 
Foch's  -writ  runs  in  Italy,  and  I  am  not  sure  that  I  want  it  to 
do  so  if  Foch  is  pushing  Diaz  on  just  now.  I  told  him  that 
I  on  my  way  to  Rome  to  find  out  how  diplomacy  and 

politics  viewed  all  these  matters.  He  laughed  and  said  that 
Rome  was  the  right  place  to  inquire  about  them,  since  here 
nt  Padua  lie  only  made  war.  He  gave  me  permission  to  look 
round  his  offices  and  to  see  into  things. 

hi  '.n  to  General  Badoglio.  A  tall  stoutly  built  man, 
with  a  square  face  and  all  a  soldier.  He  enlarged  upon 
l»i;i/.'-  theme,  and  complained  a  little  thai  in  France  they 
did  not  Beem  to  understand  Italy-.-  position,  which  he  asked 
me  to  make  clear  to  the  British  public  Colonel  Etaure  had 
been  sent  by  Clemenoeati  to  Italy,  and  only  then  had  real 
i  ed  how  things  stood.    Bo  Badoglio  declared     The  general 


424  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

situation  was  as  Diaz  had  pointed  out,  but  we  must  remember 
how  Italy's  role  had  changed  since  the  early  days  of  the  war. 
They  formerly  had  less  than  half  the  Austrians  to  deal  with. 
Now  they  had  practically  the  whole,  and  Italy  with  her  34 
million  people  was  facing  Austria  with  her  53  millions.  Italy 
was  inferior,  and  stood  in  a  poor  military  situation.  The 
Austrians  half  encircled  her,  and  any  sortie  against  the  circle 
might  only  mean  a  slight  gain  and  a  worse  position,  followed 
by  such  a  set-back  as  we  had  at  Cambrai.  Italy  would  be 
very  glad  to  fight  her  July  18  or  August  8,  but  to  do  so  she 
had  to  possess  such  a  superiority  as  permitted  Foch  to  pass 
to  the  offensive,  and  he  did  not  see  it  coming. 

'  But,  if  twenty  Allied  divisions  came  to  you,  you  would  do 
it  ? '  I  asked.  '  Yes,  certainly, '  he  said.  '  How  long  will  it  take 
using  the  two  railways  ? '  I  asked.  '  One  month,'  he  replied. 
He  can  do  forty  trains  a  day  on  the  two  lines.  He  said  that 
he  would  not  dream  of  asking  for  troops  until  Foch's  offen- 
sive in  France  closed  down,  but  that  then  they  might  come 
and  be  back  in  France  for  the  reopening  of  the  campaign  in 
March.  '  Then,'  I  said,  '  you  would  like  them  to  come  in 
October,  to  fight  for  the  three  months  November  to  January, 
mainly  in  the  plains,  and  then  to  return  in  February  ?  ' 
Yes,  this  was  his  idea,  and  they  had  some  informal  promise 
of  American  aid.  He  wished  the  Allies  to  hold  certain  sec- 
tors to  relieve  the  Italians,  and  claimed  the  right  for  the 
latter  to  play  the  chief  part  in  the  battle,  to  share  the  general 
sacrifices,  and  to  reconquer  their  own  territory.  '  Supposing 
that  you  do,'  I  said, '  what  next  ?  Can  you  go  on  to  Laibach 
and  Vienna  across  all  those  mountains  with  only  your  two 
second-grade  railways  ?  Can  you  supply  your  Armies  ?  ' 
He  thought  he  could,  and  tightened  his  belt  to  show  how 
Italians  would  stint  themselves  to  bring  off  the  coup.  I  said 
that  this  was  all  right  for  a  battalion  for  a  day,  but  not  for 
an  Army  and  a  campaign.  The  scheme  in  its  initial  stages, 
I  admitted,  looked  attractive,  but  how  it  would  appear  to 
Foch  was  another  matter.  Our  troops  had  all  fought  hard 
and  needed  rest. 

To  employ  so  much  rolling  stock  for  a  month  in  October 


1918]  GENERAL  BADOGLIO  425 

and  another  in  February  or  March  seems  to  me  rather  diffi- 
cult, when  so  much  is  needed  for  the  Americans  and  coal  is 
so  short.  Even  now,  our  move  to  France  from  here  is  held 
up  for  want  of  rolling  stock  during  the  new  Franco-American 
attack  from  the  Meuse  to  the  Suippe.  This  is  engaging 
14  American  divisions,  1st  Army,  from  the  Meuse  to  the 
Argonne,  and  23  French,  2nd  Army,  etc.,  from  the  Argonne 
to  the  Suippe.  We  have  done  well  and  the  Hindenburg 
lines  are  swept  clear  locally.  The  Americans  got  forward 
twelve  miles  by  12  noon  the  first  da}T  of  the  advance, 
smashing  up  all  opposition.  This  advance  is  very  threat- 
ening for  the  whole  German  line.  Both  Diaz  and  Badoglio 
were  very  complimentary  about  our  men  and  about  Cavan 
and  Gathorne -Hardy. 

Afterwards  saw  other  officers.  The  battle-map  section 
quite  good,  and  all  theatres  well  shown.  The  Salonika 
theatre  very  interesting.  About  three-quarters  of  the  Bul- 
garians have  been  beaten.  Not  many  prisoners,  but  much 
material  taken  and  some  chance  still  of  a  big  haul  of 
prisoners.  In  the  Russian  theatre  we  seem  to  hold  the  Trans- 
Siberian  throughout,  but  in  Murmansk  60,000  Germans  and 
Finns  face  5000  Allies.  It  is  an  interesting  question  whether 
the  Austrian  Army  will  not  outstay  the  German  in  moral 
and  discipline.  Parts  of  it  are  bad  and  disaffected  no  doubt, 
but  the  Italians  remind  me  that  Austria  suffered  no  1800 
and  remained  stubborn  to  the  end  of  the  \apoleonic 
wars. 

The  question  whether  this  Allied  help  should  be  given  this 
winter  is  urgent.  It  can  only  be  decided  by  a  close  study 
of  all  the  military  and  transport  questions  interwoven  with 
it.  It  certainly  seems  wrong  that,  when  we  are  beating  the 
enemy  OH  all  other  fronts,  the  Italian  front  should  be 
quiescent,  bul  I  feel  sure  thai  unless  a  good  help  can  be  sent, 
and  '-.in  he  returned  with  fair  certainty  in  February  next,  or 

in  March  at  latest,  or  again  mile--  other  causes  change  the 

position,   Diaz  had  much  better  let   the  attaob  alone.     I 

doubt     whether    the    I'Vindi    linderst  and    1  he    real    position 
They  rue  .- 1 1  v\ .  i  \  -    --.  <  ■<  >]  1 1  em )  »t  i  lOUfl  of  the    [taliaiLB  that    this 


426  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

attitude  has  become  second  nature  to  them.  We  also  are 
not  blameless. 

In  the  afternoon  motored  out  to  call  upon  the  Duke  of 
Aosta,  commanding  the  3rd  Army.  On  the  way  found 
myself  at  Mestre,  and  changed  roads  to  get  to  San  Giuliano 
to  have  a  look  at  the  city  of  histories  and  mysteries  from  a 
new  view-point.  Venice  looking  very  grey,  peaceful  and 
still.  No  movement  at  all,  just  the  outline  of  all  the  stones 
and  bones.  On  to  Mogliano,  where  I  first  saw  General  Fabbri, 
the  Duke's  Chief  of  Staff,  whom  I  had  met  in  1916  at  Belluno 
when  he  was  serving  Di  Robilant  in  the  same  capacity.  A 
pleasant  talk.  Then  saw  the  Duke  who  talks  English  well 
but  preferred  to  speak  French.  I  congratulated  him  upon  the 
record  of  the  3rd  Army.  He  told  me  that  he  had  left  100,000 
dead  upon  the  Carso  and  that  last  year  had  cost  the  Italians 
700,000  casualties.  There  are  eighteen  Austrian  divisions 
now  confronting  his  seven  on  the  Piave  below  Montello.  I 
saw  all  their  numbers,  names,  and  stations,  and  the  positions 
of  their  batteries,  trenches,  and  flying  squadrons,  the  mass 
of  which  latter  are  on  this  sector  of  the  front.  The  Duke  is 
tall,  clean-shaven,  rather  grey  looking,  and  courteous.  He 
seems  to  be  a  man  of  the  world,  of  moderate  and  sane  views, 
and  without  ostentation.  I  found  no  difference  between  his 
views  and  those  of  Diaz  and  Badoglio,  so  I  need  not  jot  them 
down.  He  admits  that  he  had  1500  men  down  a  day  from 
malaria  during  the  first  fortnight  of  this  month,  but  now  a 
turn  has  come  for  the  better.  The  mosquitoes  are  very 
large  and  cause  all  the  trouble.  His  worry  now  is  that  the 
Spanish  'flu  is  taking  hold  and  is  pretty  deadly.  An  officer 
to  whom  he  was  talking  yesterday  is  dead  to-day.  He 
thinks  the  Austrians  powerful,  well-disciplined,  and  brave. 
He  seemed  to  think  that  it  would  be  an  excellent  thing  to  do 
to  hustle  the  Austrians  from  November  to  February,  but 
does  not  see  the  necessary  Allied  troops  coming  yet.  He  has 
pushed  the  last  Austrian  over  the  Piave. 

As  the  Duke  adopted  the  hateful  Royal  habit  of  remaining 
standing  while  we  talked,  I  did  not  detain  him  long,  and  went 
off  to  see  his  bureaux,  which  were  well  organised  and  efficient. 


1918]  SAN  MARTINO'S  DUTIES  427 

Everything  possible  to  know  about  the  Austrian  position 
seems  to  be  known,  every  battery,  road,  track,  trench,  yard 
of  wire,  shelter,  dump,  and  so  on.  Each  Austrian  battery 
has  a  regular  family  history  with  air  photos,  arc  of  fire,  and 
everything  necessary.  The  map  room  is  admirably  done, 
and  the  photos,  as  usual,  first  rate.  I  remained  some  time 
to  examine  everything.  Motored  back  through  Treviso, 
which  has  been  more  or  LeSfl  deserted  by  the  inhabitants  and 
a  good  deal  bombed.  It  is  full  of  troops.  The  Intendance 
has  gone  further  back.  The  right  name  for  the  Arditi  is 
Truppi  d'Assalto.  There  is  a  whole  Corps  of  them,  and  a 
battalion  in  each  Army  Corps  besides. 

San  Martino  thinks  that  I  can  put  down  about  eight  of  the 
Austrian  divisions  as  pretty  bad  troops.  He  told  me  about 
his  own  billet  as  we  motored.  He  is  Head  of  the  liaison 
service,  and  has  representatives  in  each  Italian  Army  Corps, 
division,  and  regiment.  He  selects  them.  They  report  to 
him  about  everything  that  may  interest  the  C.-in-C,  and  he 
has  the  right  of  going  anywhere  and  of  examining  any 
papers.  He  does  not  concern  himself  with  personnel,  promo- 
tion, or  administration,  but  does  with  everything  concerning 
strengths  and  operations.  He  has  to  see  that  his  agents 
do  not  become  too  much  the  mouthpiece  of  the  units  they 
are  with  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  that  they  do  not 
become  too  uppish  and  try  to  make  and  unmake  generals. 
They  are  the  miesi  dominici  of  the  C.-in-C.  I  admitted  that 
Napoleon  and  Moltke  had  them,  but  said  that  I  supposed 
thai  San  .Martino  and  his  myrmidons  must  be  very  unpopular 
well  BS  eery  powerful.  The  deference  of  others  to  San  M. 
had  already  impressed  me,  and  now  1  knew  the  reason. 
J  did  not  remember  the  system  under  Cadorna.  How  long 
had  it  been  instituted  !  San  .M.  said  not  for  Long  in  its 
present  form.  Be  thoughl  thai  many  Commanders  and 
units  found  it  answer,  as  tlay  gol  things  put  righl  quicker, 

bul  no  doubt  In-  gol  himself  much  disliked  at  times,  and 
Once,  had  lie  taken  a  road  recommended  tO  him,  he  would 
infallibly  have    been    killed.      lie   said      as   our   own   people 

do    1l1.1i   the  [talians  -till  cram  too  many  men  into  their 
vol.  11.  2  v 


428  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

front  lines  and  so  lose  heavily.  I  threw  a  fly  over  hirn 
about  Caporetto,  but  he  would  not  rise  to  it.  He  said  that 
the  causes  went  back  to  a  great  number  of  political  and 
other  circumstances,  and  that  it  was  too  soon  to  talk  of  them. 
I  told  him  in  order  that  he  might  report  it,  how  fully  I 
agreed  with  the  views  of  Diaz,  Badoglio,  the  Duke  of  Aosta, 
and  others.  The  Duke  had  told  me  how  right  I  was  to  come 
and  see  for  myself.     This,  he  said,  was  always  his  system. 

In  the  evening  discussed  Italian  personalities  at  Rome,  etc. 
I  was  confirmed  about  de  Martino  and  Tedeschini,  as  well 
as  about  Cardinal  Gasparri,  and  added  the  names  of  Dr. 
Malagodi  of  the  Tribuna,  and  of  Albertini  of  the  Corriere, 
as  of  persons  to  see  and  sound,  but  I  fear  tliat  the  latter  will 
not  be  in  Rome.  I  am  advised  generally  that  the  leading 
journalists  are  better  informed  and  more  trustworthy  than 
the  Senators  and  Deputies.  They  represent  more  the 
general  public  opinion,  and  are  better  men.  The  Army 
seems  to  stand  clear  of  politics  and  despises  all  the  politicians. 
They  would  like  a  Clemenceau,  but  cannot  find  one.  Some 
officer  said  that  Diaz  was  buried  under  mountains  of  papers. 
His  rather  worried  appearance,  and  his  Uttered  desk  and 
that  of  his  A.D.C.,  confirmed  this  opinion.  Also  I  thought 
that  Badoglio  spoke  as  though  he  were  in  actual  com- 
mand, and  talked  of  orders  that  he  had  issued  on  the 
night  of  June  15  for  the  counter-attack  as  though  they 
were  due  to  his  own  initiative.  As  he  is  only  forty -five, 
this  may  be  a  good  thing.  We  must  always  recall  that 
the  King  is  nominally  C.-in-C,  Diaz  only  Chief  of  Staff, 
Badoglio  his  Assistant  Chief  of  Staff,  and  General  Cipriano 
his  Assistant  Chief  of  Staff  for  Political  Affairs. 

Note  that  people  say  that  the  men  born  in  1898  in  Italy 
are  not  worth  a  rap  and  crowd  the  hospitals.  The  fact  is 
put  down  to  all  the  disturbing  revolts,  rows,  and  eruptions 
of  volcanoes  in  that  year  !  The  Italians  have  the  1919 
class  in  the  ranks  and  the  1920  waiting  to  join,  so  they 
declare  that  they  have  made  more  sacrifices  than  France, 
but  this  is  only  true  about  the  youngest  classes. 

In  the  evening  comes  a  report  that  the  Bulgarians  are 


1918]  COLONEL  GRUSS  429 

asking  for  an  Armistice.  San  Martino,  by  the  way,  .1  have 
learnt  to  appreciate.  He  is  a  hard  fellow,  without  sentiment ; 
all  his  family,  who  are  Piedmontese,  are  soldiers  and  have 
always  been  soldiers  :  his  brothers  have  all  been  killed  bar 
one  wounded  and  a  prisoner.  It  is  easy  for  a  soldier  to  talk 
to  soldiers,  whether  it  is  Foch  or  Petain,  Diaz,  Badoglio,  or 
San  Martino.  We  all  talk  the  same  language  and  have  the 
same  point  of  view.  C'lemenceau  alone  among  politicians 
is  of  the  family. 

The  Italians  want  to  go  on  with  us,  but  the  liaison  must 
be  preserved  as  Italian  politics  are  a  bit  shifty.  So  far  as 
I  can  judge  from  inquiries,  Italian  ambitions  are  really 
limited  to  the  Italian  Trentino,  Italian  Trieste,  Pola,  and 
something  in  Albania.  A  privileged  position  in  the  Adriatic, 
but  a  Serbian  outlet  is  accepted.  The  Dodecanese  and 
Asia  Minor  are  excrescences,  and  their  exclusion  from  the 
long  lists  of  the  claims  of  extremists  will  not  be  an  obstacle 
to  peace.  Caporetto  brought  moderate  Italians  back  to  a 
sense  of  realities.  Italy's  future  is  on  the  water.  So  they 
say.  The  soldiers,  however,  do  not  concern  themselves  with 
naval  affairs.  Like  the  King  of  Italy,  who  spoke  to  me  on 
the  matter  two  years  ago,  San  M.  admits  that  the  men 
available  authorise  the  creation  of  more  divisions,  but  that 
the  cadres  cannot  be  found  and  are  even  short  for  the  troops 
DOW  existing. 

Saturday,  Sept.  28.  Walked  round  to  the  Papafara  Palace, 
where  the  old  Countess  has  remained,  refusing  to  budge  for 
the  Tedeschi.  A  fine  house  with  good  rooms,  some  nice  old 
pictures,  furniture,  and  books.  The  French  mission  is  here, 
and  I  saw  Colonel  Griiss,  the  serious  Alsatian  officer  whose 
(.pinion  1  value,  but  we  could  not  get  a  word  alone.  This 
also  happened  in  1916.  The  less  one  talks  to  Frenchmen 
in  Italy  tin-  better  is  one  regarded.  However  we  talked. 
Hie  thinks  that  the  Austrian  offensive  is  dead  for  tiiis  year. 
The  affair  <>f  the   1'iavi-  had  ben  prepared   by  a  t  reniend.  ms 

military,  moral,  and  technical  propaganda,  as  we  had  both 

seen  from  the  full  n-<  QTCU  which  the  3rd  Army  had  captured, 
and  it  wafl  not  ea.-y  to  recommence  after  such  a  failure.    But 


430  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

Griiss  still  thought  the  Austrian  Army  solid  and  that  it 
would  resist  well.  As  for  the  actual  number  of  their  divi- 
sions and  their  moral,  the  only  way  to  test  it  was  by  contact, 
which  I  expect  he  longs  for.  He  agreed  that  the  Hungarians 
and  Bosniaks  were  fighting  splendidly.  The  Czechs  also 
fought  well  till  they  could  surrender.  The  Austrian  aviation 
was  null.  They  came  out  in  a  great  swarm  the  first  day  of 
the  attack  and  then  were  scarcely  seen  again.  They  did 
nothing  for  the  guns,  and  the  Austrian  counter-battery 
work  was  consequently  bad,  but  the  Austrian  artillery 
was  good  when  it  had  a  mark.1  An  Army  was  only 
worth  what  its  cadres  were  worth,  and  the  Austrian 
cadres  were  still  good.  Griiss  thought  that  within 
twenty-one  days  or  so  the  Austrians  might  send  six 
divisions  down  to  Bulgaria,  and  that  then  the  position  of 
the  Allies  might  become  difficult,  as  they  had  no  reserves 
and  had  fought  with  all  their  troops  in  the  Hue,  but  if  the 
Austrians  took  a  month  to  send  the  first  divisions  it  might  be 
too  late.  I  expect  that  Griiss  thinks  that  the  Italians  ought 
to  attack  to  hold  the  Austrians  here,  and  this  will  be  said 
later  if  the  Austrian  reinforcement  arrives  in  time.  The 
Austrian  troops  can  be  found  from  the  reserves  behind  the 
Piave  front.  But  Griiss  and  I  could  not  discuss  Italian 
affairs  in  the  presence  of  San  Martino.  I  fancy  Foch  gets 
most  of  his  information  from  Italy  from  Griiss,  and  my 
impression  is  that  the  latter  favours  an  attack  here.  I 
expect  that  he  would  tear  most  of  the  Austrian  divisions  to 
pieces  with  criticism,  as  Enkel  used  to  do,  if  we  came  to  the 
point  of  looking  into  them.  There  may  be  more  in  Foch's 
view  than  meets  the  eye. 

Walked  round  Padua  to  see  some  of  the  old  corners  and 
buildings.  Two  bombs  had  fallen  into  the  middle  of  the 
theatre,  one  on  the  Duomo,  and  several  houses  are  wrecked. 
The  man  who  built  and  named  the  Palazzo  della  Ragione 
must  be  moving  uneasily  in  his  grave. 

San  Martino  announced  suddenly,  apropos  de  boites,  that 
man  was  the  wildest  of  all  wild  beasts.     He  was  much 

1  Our  regimental  officers  agree. 


1918]  THE  ITALIAN  EFFORT  431 

amused  with  the  story  of  the  Harvard  professor  and  I  having 
settled  on  '  The  First  World  War  '  as  the  proper  title  for 
the  campaign.  Padua  is  the  home  of  the  rich  Jews.  Most 
tied,  and  the  town  lias  been  a  city  of  the  dead  since  June, 
but  people  are  beginning  to  come  back.  The  old  corners 
are  full  of  interest. 

Spent  the  afternoon  in  digging  out  some  figures  to  com- 
pare the  Italian  and  the  French  efforts  during  the  war. 
The  Italian  population  before  the  war  was  34,000,000  to  the 
39,500,000  of  France,  but  owing  to  the  emigration  in  Italy 
and  the  larger  families  there  were  only  18,000,000  Italians 
economically  active  and  between  eighteen  and  fifty-five 
years  of  age,  to  the  24,000,000  of  French.  Before  the 
war  there  were  67  economically  passive  out  of  every  100 
in  Italy — i.e.  children  and  old  people — to  the  45  of  France. 

There  have  been  mobilised  5,252,000  Italians  and  7,818,000 
French.  At  present  for  100  persons  in  Italy  economically 
active  there  are  92  passive,  while  in  France  there  are  only 
57.  The  net  losses  from  deaths,  prisoners,  and  serious 
wounds  have  been  1,500,000  for  Italy  and  2,000,000  for 
France,  but  amongst  these  the  Italian  prisoners  are  over 
600,000  and  the  French  about  350,000. 

Italy  had  under  arms  in  June  last  4,000,000  men  and 
France  5,000,000,  that  is  to  say  512  per  1000  active  workers, 
while  France  had  506.  Out  of  these  512  or  506  Italy  has 
:;"!  employed  on  the  Western  front  and  France  294,  and  of 
tlx-sc  .'i<»l  and  294  respectively  the  number  of  combatants 
i-  1S6  for  Italy  and  175  for  France. 

The  number  of  combatants  on  the  Western  front  is 
1,600,000  for  Italy  and  2,000,000  for  France,  that  is  to  say, 
21  per  cent,  of  the  men  aged  eighteen  to  sixty-five.  These 
are  [tahan  calculations,  and  they  seem  to  show  that  the 
Italian  effort  lias  been  very  praiseworthy. 

Left  7.20  p.m.  for  Rome.  Saw  a  soldier  on  the  platform 
suddenly  collapse  under  malaria.  It  was  very  sudden,  ami 
■  like  epilepsy.     People  whisper  that  it  is  the  plague. 

Sunday,  Sept.  -'•'.  Reached  Rome  11.30  a.m.  and  went 
t<>  t he  Grand  Hotel.    Poor  bread  no  butter,  and  three  meat- 


432  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

less  days  in  the  week.  Electric  light  and  hot  baths  good. 
Spent  the  morning  and  early  afternoon  in  writing  letters  to 
a  number  of  people  here.  I  thought  much  of  the  new  posi- 
tion caused  by  the  Bulgarian  attempt  to  get  an  armistice 
and  the  Austro-German  declaration  that  they  are  sending 
troops  1  to  re-establish  matters.  As  Germany  is  beaten 
every  day  in  France  just  now  she  cannot  really  spare  any- 
thing, but  Austria  can  as  she  has  large  reserves  behind  both 
the  Piave  and  the  Tyrol  fronts.  It  will  never  do  for  Franchet 
d'Esperey  to  be  beaten  now,  and  so  circumstances  alter  cases 
and  seem  to  call  at  least  for  a  strong  Italian  demonstration, 
while  we  must  keep  on  pressing  the  Boche  in  France. 

Went  to  the  Embassy  in  the  afternoon.  No  one  in  till  6  p.m. 
Drove  through  the  Borghese  Gardens  and  round  the  Pincio. 
Left  letters  on  various  people.  Saw  Colonel  Cyril  Rocke, 
Irish  Guards,  our  Military  Attache,  at  the  Embassy  later, 
and  he  will  arrange  my  visit  to  the  War  Minister  Zupelli 
to-morrow.  De  Salis  away  from  the  Vatican  Legation,  but 
I  saw  Bogey  Harris,  who  will  see  Monsignore  Cerretti  to- 
morrow to  arrange  for  me  to  see  him  and  Cardinal  Gasparri. 
Tedeschini,  Gasquet,  and  Langdon  away  for  some  days. 
Bogey  thinks  that  Gasparri  and  Cerretti  are  the  chief  people 
to  see,  and  that  Tedeschini  is  only  useful  as  a  personal  friend 
of  the  Pope's.  He  thinks  Langdon  clever.  I  seem  to  have 
all  the  chief  men  on  my  list,  in  the  journalistic,  diplomatic, 
and  Vatican  circles,  but  it  will  take  some  few  days  to  see 
them  all.  Bogey  declares  that  the  Vatican  are  pro-Vatican 
and  not  pro-German.  They  feel  much  hurt  at  the  criticisms 
of  the  Morning  Post  and  Times. 

Bogey  very  anxious  to  know  about  Ireland,  but  I  could 
not  enlighten  him  much.  He  says  that  it  is  no  good  for  the 
Pope  to  pull  the  strings  in  Ireland  when  he  knows  that  the 
puppets  will  not  dance.  He  impressed  upon  me  that  the 
Italian  Government  were  now  on  the  best  of  terms  with  the 
Vatican.  I  was  interested  in  the  expansion  of  Rome  since 
my  last  visit,  but  I  like  the  old  Rome  of  my  youth  best.     It 

1  Hungarian  and  Polish  troops  were  sent  from  the  Ukraine  on  the  27th, 
but  on  reaching  the  Serbian  frontier  refused  to  go  further. 


1918]  VISITS  AT  ROME  433 

strikes  me  as  a  new  light  that  Rome  is  more  than  half 
Eastern.  The  houses  and  gardens  are  Cairene.  The  people 
strike  me  as  almost  Levantine,  as  I  see  them  all  out  on  a  fine 
Sunday.  The  offices  are  shut  all  the  afternoon  like  Calcutta 
in  the  summer. 

In  the  evening  the  military  and  naval  attaches,  Colonel 
Cyril  Rocks  and  Captain  Dennis  Larking,  R.N.,  as  well  as 
Bogey  dined  with  me.  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Colonel 
Buckey.  a  sharp  and  astute  American  military  attached 
All  these  people  are  confirmed  adherents  of  the  Diaz  view 
of  the  situation,  and  are  not  yet  moved  by  the  Bulgarian 
convulsion.  I  said  that  I  agreed  with  them  up  to  yesterday, 
but  that  one  must  not  retain  fixed  ideas  in  a  changing 
situation.  Will  the  Italians  know  if  Austria  has  sent  six  or 
twelve  divisions  to  Bulgaria  ?  This  is  the  doubtful  point. 
Larking  asked  me  to  say  nothing  about  the  Admiralissimo 
question,  as  he  hoped  that  things  were  coming  right.  On 
the  whole  the  soldiers  thought  that  Italy  was  too  far 
away  to  accept  Foch's  directives.  They  are  impressed 
by  the  military  dangers  still  run  by  Italy,  and  think 
the  Piave  victory  almost  a  miracle. 

Monday,  Sept.  30.  Went  to  the  Embassy  to  see  the 
Ambassador,  Sir  Rennell  Rodd,  who  has  returned  from  Eng- 
land. He  has  only  taken  this  one  month's  leave  in  four 
years.  He  gave  me  the  address  of  the  painter  whose  works 
1  admired  so  much  when  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  brought 
them  borne  last  year.  H.  E.  quite  approved  of  my  plan 
for  learning  the  situation  here,  and  is  anxious  to  help  me. 
We  meet  at  dinner  to-night  with  Prince  Colonna,  Rocke, 
Sir  Conrtanld  Thomson,  etc.,  Excelsior,  8.30.  Malagodi 
coming  here  to  talk  to-morrow  al  6  p.m.  A  good  article 
inth''  .V'  9Sagero,  taking  my  point  about  Bulgaria  and  saying 
that  Italy  ii  watchful  and  ready  and  that  her  hour  may 
strike  soon.  A  \<ry  proper  line.  I  drove  out  to  see  the 
paintei  studio,  lb-  was  out,  but  his  wife  showed  me 
lome  of  his  pictures.  A  remarkable  colourist,  with  great 
natural  talent  foi  drawing  and  an  exuberant  imagination. 
I  was  perplexed  by  the  strange  brushwork  until  the  Bignora 


434  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

told  me  that  it  was  done  with  his  fingers.  Two  sea  pieces, 
one  of  deep  blues  and  the  other  of  greens  with  nymphs,  etc., 
bathing,  very  wonderful  examples.  Some  fine  sketches  of 
pictures  he  is  doing  and  has  done.  Made  an  appointment 
for  3  to-morrow. 

Lunched  with  Bogey,  Rocke,  Larking,  the  American 
military  attache,  and  a  secretary.  More  talk  of  Italy  and 
the  war.  The  American  secretary  brought  a  copy  of  the 
Matin  with  the  Rome  postmark  on  it.  Two  pages  were 
covered  with  abuse  of  England  and  France  and  their  states- 
men in  big  block  letters  in  red.  Heard  about  various 
Missions  of  ours  in  Italy. 

'  Les  petites  marionnettes 
Font,  font,  font, 
Trois  petits  tours, 
Et  puis  s'en  vont.' 

How  these  various  agencies  of  information  love  each  other  ! 

Walked  round  Rome  in  the  afternoon  and  looked  at  the 
shops  and  people.  Saw  nothing  to  tempt  me.  The  Victor 
Emmanuel  monument  looks  like  a  wedding  cake  made  by  a 
mad  Gunter  for  a  demi-mondaine.  The  poor  old  '  Londra  ' 
has  moved  up  the  hill,  and  the  old  house  is  called  the  Hotel 
des  Princes.  Watched  a  paper  kiosque  :  the  Idea  Nazionale 
seems  to  be  the  most  read  paper,  and  by  long  chalks,  among 
the  common  folk. 

A  pleasant  dinner.  Mrs.  Rocke,  an  American  and  nice 
looking  ;  they  have  been  married  only  a  year.  She  knows 
Rome  and  its  people  well.  Sir  Courtauld's  Red  Cross 
experiences  extend  to  all  Mediterranean  theatres.  In  Italy 
with  100  ambulances  and  a  small  personnel  he  has  brought 
400,000  wounded  from  the  battlefields,  his  people  suffering 
many  losses  and  having  gained  a  number  of  decorations 
and  mentions.  He  considers  the  Italians  to  be  brave  fighters. 
Caporetto  was  not,  in  his  opinion,  an  exception  because  the 
Italians  did  not  fight.  He  puts  it  all  down  to  loss  of  moral 
at  the  back  of  the  front.  Rodd  agrees  with  me  about  the 
dangers    involved    in    destroying    Austria.     Sonnino,    like 


1918]  HOW  THE  ARMIES  STAND  435 

Berthelot.  holds  the  same  views.  H.  E.  was  helpful  to  me 
about  Press  people,  and  will  get  de  Martino  to  see  me ;  but 
he  warns  me  that  Sonnino  is  a  man  who  decides  for  himself. 
•  If  Martino  is  a  little  less  Imperialistic  than  he  was,  and  has 
toned  down.  H.  E.  recommends  to  me  the  editor  of  the 
Giornale  d: Italia.  All  here  are  profoundly  impressed  by 
Ansaldo's,  which  have  60,000  workmen,  have  enormously 
extended  their  works,  and  have  found  iron  in  the  Aosta 
Valley.  They  claim  to  be  able  to  transfer  into  peace 
industries  within  a  week!  Bogey  looked  in.  I  am  to  see 
(  enetti  to-morrow  or  Wednesday  ;  but  they  seem  very 
incensed  against  the  Morning  Post  for  some  line  they  took 
a  year  ago,  and  I  shall  have  to  amadouer  them  a  bit.  Rocke 
told  us  that  at  an  international  review  held  in  Rome  the 
Czechs  were  easily  first  in  appearance,  steadiness  on  parade, 
and  arm  drill.  The  Gordons  a  good  second,  and  the  rest 
nowhere. 

I  see  that  I  have  not  jotted  down  how  the  Italian  Armies 
stand.  From  their  right  at  the  mouth  of  the  Piave  to 
Switzerland  there  stand  in  succession  the  3rd,  8th,  4th,  Cth — 
which  latter  includes  the  French  and  British  under  an  Italian 
Army  commander — the  8th,  1st,  and  the  7th.  The  9th  is 
in  reserve.  The  missing  numbers  are  non-existent  Armies. 
The  2nd  Army  has  been  broken  up  on  account  of  Caporetto, 
and  1  think  the  5th  has  been  renumbered  the  9th.  One 
must  note  that  there  is  only  one  Army  in  reserve. 

The  Austrian-  are  in  two  groups,  one,  under  Boroevic, 
from  the  1'iave  mouth  to  near  Feltre,  and  the  other,  under 
tin-  Archduke  Joseph,  from  Feltre  to  the  Swiss  frontier. 
\i<  lias  the  5th  Army  of  the  Isonzo  on  his  left,  the 
0th  Army  on  his  right,  and  the  4th  Army  in  reserve  south 
of  Qdine.  The  Archduke's  group  takes  up  the  line  with 
the  i  nh  and  then  the  LOth  Armies.  There  are  also  the 
Riva  garrison  and  I  he  I  wo  rayons  near  to  the  Ku  Iss  border. 

This  distribution  is  defensive,  but  might  produce  offensive 
strategy.    There  ii  no  unified  command  except  bheEmperoi 

K.i  1  and  Yon  ArZ. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  L.    The  Armistioe  with  Bulgaria  and  the 


436  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

Military  Convention  appear  to  have  been  settled  on  with 
vertiginous  speed.  Is  it  a  purely  military  proposition  to 
have  had  such  a  success  ?  No  one  appears  to  have  expected 
it.  It  is  a  Bulgarian  Caporetto,  and  perhaps  equally  brought 
about  by  propaganda  in  the  rear.  The  Boches  are  simply 
stunned  by  it  all.1 

Bogey  lunched  with  me.  He  said  that  he  had  been  told 
that  the  Pope's  peace  circular  had  been  written  by  the  Pope 
himself,  and  that  he  had  consulted  no  one.  He  Salis 
was  away  and  had  no  previous  knowledge  even  of  the 
intention. 

The  Pope,  said  B. ,  was  like  this  sometimes.  He  was  a  dark 
horse,  and  it  was  not  known  whether  he  was  very  intelligent 
or  the  reverse.  B.  laughed  at  the  Pope's  allusions  to  the 
freedom  of  the  seas,  and  said  that  no  one  knew  what  it  meant. 
The  Pope's  knowledge  of  seas  was  confined  to  the  Vatican 
fountains.  I  am  to  see  Cardinal  Gasparri  to-morrow  at 
11  a.m.,  and  am  warned  that  he  will  go  at  me  about  the 
Morning  Post.  It  will  be  the  most  helpful  entree  en  matiere 
for  my  purposes. 

We  went  off  to  the  studio,  and  I  bought  several  of  the 
painter's  cartoons  and  sketches,  and  ordered  two  pictures. 
He  is  agreeable  in  conversation  and  has  great  talent.  I  shall 
now  have  examples  of  his  range,  and  shall  see  what  the  best 
judges  say  in  England.  His  manner  of  painting  with  his 
lingers  for  brushes  is  pretty  dangerous  for  the  health.  He 
seems  to  me  a  natural  artist.  He  puts  his  pictures  in  the 
sunlight  when  they  are  painted,  and  repaints  any  parts  that 
crack.  He  is  of  medium  height,  and  is  evidently  of  humble 
origin.  He  is  a  little  like  a  certain  English  family  type  in 
face,  and  short  whiskers  increase  the  resemblance.  He  has 
painted  himself  with  a  beard,  but  he  never  had  one,  and  it 
was  only  for  effect.  I  told  him  that  I  did  not  like  the  Rubens 
type  of  his  ladies  in  the  allegorical  pieces,  and  that  he  must 
paint  my  ladies  slim  !     Philistinism  !     Some  of  his  cartoons 

1  The  Germans  decided  to  apply  for  an  Armistice  on  September  29  and 
warned  their  Allies  the  same  day  (vide  the  German  White  Book  of 
August  1,  1919). 


1918]         THE  ITALIAN  WAR  MINISTER  437 

are  really  almost  Michael  Angelesque.     1  am  trying  to  get 
his  sketch-books  with  his  studies,  which  are  joys. 

Rocke  called  for  me  and  took  me  to  the  War  Ministry 
afterwards,  where  I  had  a  good  talk  with  General  Zupelli, 
the  War  Minister — a  tall  man  with  an  easy  and  courteous 
manner  ;  he  was  in  mufti.  The  Cabinet  here  seem  to  have 
grasped  thoroughly  the  critical  nature  of  the  present  phase 
of  the  war  and  its  changing  character.  Zupelli  agrees  with 
Diaz  and  Badoglio  about  the  situation  as  it  was  three  days 
ago,  but  says  that  if  the  Entente  send  more  troops  to  Italy, 
—  a  solution  which  he  prefers — or  if  the  Austrians  begin  to 
withdraw  their  reserves  to  reconstitute  their  Eastern  front, 
then  the  situation  will  have  altered,  and  Italy  will  act.  '  Can 
you  be  sure  that  you  will  know  when  Austria  is  moving 
Bast  ! '  I  asked.  'No,'  said  Zupelli,  'we  cannot.  Such  move- 
ments are  too  easily  concealed  for  a  time,  but  the  troops 
will  be  identified  elsewhere  if  they  leave  our  front,  and  we 
may  know  by  other  means.'  He  thought  that  the  defence 
of  Northern  Serbia  and  the  Danube  line  would  now  be  a 
great  anxiety  to  Austria.  He  said  that  the  Rumanian 
Treaty  had  not  yet  been  ratified,  and  that  nothing  prevented 
the  Rumanians  from  starting  a  war  again  except  the  presence 
of  Austrian  troops.  We  Italians,  he  added,  could  not  make 
a  linn  plan  yet,  and  our  actions  must  be  settled  by  events 
from  day  to  day.     This  seems  a  reasonable  point  of  view. 

The  Italians  do  not  mean  to  commit  imprudences.  Z. 
told  me  that  the  Italian  division  on  the  Salonika  front  was 
unusually  strong — 52,000  men.  It  was  really  a  strong  Army 
Corps,  but  the  French  communiques  persistently  ignored  it. 
lb-  thinks  that  the  Bulgarian  campaign  was  not  a  military 
proposition,  and  suggested  that  the  Americans  at  Sofia  had 
engineered  it.  But  we  had  scored  heavily,  and  now  the 
question  wai  whether  Turkey  would  not  go  next.  Yes,  I 
said,  it  would  he  with  the  Entente  and  Germany  before  long 
at  in  a  Eamoua  French  picture  '  Enfiu  Souls!'  and  the  em 
would  be  rather  stifling.    Z.  complained  thai  he  could 

not  g.-t  the  tanks  which  he  wanted.      Our  he;iv\    tanks  were 
of   no  use  in    Italy   where  the   little    I.Ynaults  did    best,    but 


438  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

Foch  could  not  spare  him  any.  Ansaldo's  were  doing  well, 
and  the  Aosta  mine  was  just  beginning  to  produce  results. 
Water-power  is  being  used  and  not  coal.  We  talked  of  the 
unified  command.  Z.  questioned  whether  the  Italian  front 
was  not  more  naturally  connected  with  the  Eastern  fronts 
than  with  France.  An  interesting  point  of  view.  But  he 
said  that  Italy  was  quite  prepared  to  receive  Foch's  ideas 
and  to  play  up  to  them  when  practicable.  At  present  Italy 
has  no  strategic  reserve.  She  had  only  one  Army  out  of 
the  line,  and  if  an  attack  came  on  the  mountain  or  the  river 
front  the  reserve  would  all  be  drawn  in  there,  and  Italy  would 
be  without  reserves  on  the  other  front.  The  fact  that  Italy 
was  in  a  poor  strategic  situation,  and  was  inferior  in  force, 
imposed  great  prudence,  but  Italy  felt  deeply  the  loss  of 
Venetia.  It  was  cut  out  of  Italy's  side,  and  she  was  deter- 
mined to  recover  it  at  her  first  opportunity.  I  talked  after- 
wards to  Colonel  Vachelli,  the  Minister's  Military  Secretary, 
about  a  variety  of  matters.  In  the  evening  Sir  Courtauld 
Thomson  dined  with  me  and  we  talked  Red  Cross,  Athens, 
and  British  politics. 

Wednesday,  Oct.  2.  Spent  the  morning  at  the  Vatican  with 
the  Cardinal  and  Secretary  of  State,  Gasparri,  andMonsignore 
Cerretti.  Up  an  intolerable  number  of  stairs  to  an  upper 
court,  and  then  more  stairs,  with  those  antediluvian  butter- 
flies— the  Papal  Guards — at  every  corner.  Waited  for  the 
Cardinal  in  a  Council  Chamber,  richly  but  simply  decorated. 
All  red,  gold,  and  marble  ;  massive  furniture  and  a  few  fine 
pieces,  commodes,  clocks,  etc.  Parquet  floors  with  good  car- 
pets. Wall  red  silk  in  gold  panels,  a  domed  roof  painted  and 
with  frescoes  as  a  frieze.  A  long  heavy  table  in  the  centre  with 
ten  red  and  gold  chairs,  and  one  at  the  end.  The  table  red 
velvet  with  silken  red  hangings  to  the  floor.  Before  each  chair 
a  large,  flat,  leather  writing-pad,  very  hard,  with  three  silver 
stands  fixed  in  them  for  pen,  ink,  and  sand.  No  blotting- 
paper  !  The  Vatican  was  not  born  yesterday.  I  must  get 
some  one  to  make  me  a  writing-pad  like  these.  They  are 
about  three  feet  long.  I  have  never  before  visited  these 
stately  silent  rooms  of  the  inmost  Vatican  sanctuaries.     I 


1918]  CARDINAL  GASPARR1  439 

cannot  imagine  better  surroundings  to  inspire  calm  and 
dignified  decisions.  The  silence  is  absolute.  Knowing  that 
the  Cardinal  was  going  to  attack  me,  I  felt  like  a  prisoner 
before  the  Inquisition,  and  the  stake  seemed  near. 

The  Cardinal  is  a  man  above  middle  height  and  strongly 
built,  with  a  powerful  head  and  signs  of  will  and  decision. 
He  greeted  me  in  a  friendly  way,  but  we  had  hardly  sat  down 
before  his  face  hardened,  his  eyes  Hashed  fire,  and  he  made 
severe  reflections  on  the  Morning  Post,  accusing  it  of  bias 
ami  ignorance,  but  dwelling  even  more  on  its  failure  to 
produce  proofs  of  its  assertions  when  challenged  by  Cardinal 
Bourne.  As  I  knew  nothing  of  the  case  and  had  not  been 
with  the  M.P.  when  it  happened,  my  withers  were  unwrung. 
O.  then  said  that  such  polemics  were  terrible,  and  I  then  said 
that  the  incident  which  he  had  mentioned  gave  particular 
point  to  the  request  which  I  was  going  to  make  to  him. 
My  complaint  against  the  Vatican  was  that  we  knew  little 
or  nothing  in  London  of  their  point  of  view,  outside  the  F.O., 
and  though,  of  course,  the  Cardinal  told  de  Salis  a  great  deal, 
it  was  all  locked  up  in  the  F.O.  pigeon-holes,  and  I  dared  say 
that  after  being  handled  by  such  masters  of  diplomacy, — and 
I  said  that  I  had  always  considered  the  Italians  the  first 
diplomatists  in  the  world — much  of  the  original  force  of  the 
idea  was  lost.  Besides,  what  was  the  good  of  leaving  the 
Press  in  ignorance  ?  We  were  living  in  democratic  days, 
and  such  polemics  as  those  to  which  G.  had  referred  were 
exactly  such  as  we  must  wish  to  avoid.  How  could  they 
be  avoided  ? 

1  thought  that  we  might  take  a  lesson  from  the  soldiers  in 
this  war.  In  most  alliances  allies  had  ended  by  hating  each 
other  more  than  the  COmmOU  enemy.  Now,  though  we  were 
twenty-eight  states  or  so  in  alliance  we  were  united.  Why  I 
Because  of  our  liaison  service.  J  had  come  to  him,  whom  I 
regarded  m  a  I  hief  of  Staff,  to  become  acquainted  with  the 

Chefs   '/  of    his  Staff.      What   I    wanted   was   to    ha\c 

Letter*  aenl   to  me  describing  the  situation  as  the  Vatican 

...  it.  and  1  said  thai  they  might  well  contain  the  frankest 

Criticisms,  B     my  Answers  might,  and  that  neither  side  should 


440  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

feel  aggrieved.  '  Will  you  undertake  that  the  31. P.  will  in 
this  case  follow  our  indications  %  '  asked  G.  I  replied,  hotly, 
'  Certainly  not !  '  for  my  editor  and  his  paper  were  absolutely 
independent,  and  I  could  answer  for  nothing,  but  that  the 
chances  were  that  a  reasonable  view  would  be  taken  by 
reasonable  men  if  they  had  all  the  facts  before  them.  How 
could  such  view  be  taken  if  they  had  not  ?  Then  I  went  on 
to  say  that  we  were  Conservatives  with  strong  desire  for 
order,  discipline,  and  good  government,  and  that  the  Vatican 
had  similar  views,  and  that  it  seemed  to  me  folly  for  us  to 
waste  our  time  attacking  each  other  when  we  both  had  the 
same  enemies,  such  as  the  Bolshevists  and  anarchists  of  all 
countries.  I  had  come  away  from  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing military  positions  ever  known  because  the  hour  for  the 
reconstitution  of  Europe  was  at  hand,  and  as  an  old  Intellig- 
ence officer  I  took  off  my  hat  to  the  best  as  well  as  the  oldest 
Intelligence  Service  in  the  Avorld,  and  wished  to  make  use 
of  it  in  a  common  cause. 

The  Cardinal  listened  and  appeared  to  take  increasing 
interest  in  my  case,  of  which  the  above  is  only  the  outline, 
and  he  began  to  give  signs  of  increasing  approval.  He  said 
at  last  that  he  agreed,  and  asked  me  to  go  straight  up  to 
Cerretti  and  lay  the  case  before  him.  He  kept  on  making 
observations  on  my  different  points.  I  had  mentioned 
Russia  and  Poland  while  talking,  and  G.  burst  into  violent 
recrimination  against  the  late  regime  in  Russia,  declaring 
that  the  history  of  the  Catholics  of  Russia  in  recent  years 
had  been  one  long  and  terrible  marly rologie,  and  that 
Providence  had  happily  intervened  at  last  to  destroy  the 
detestable  system.  I  then  answered  various  questions 
about  the  military  situation,  and  we  came  to  talking  about 
the  Bulgarian  surrender,  about  which  he  seemed  to  know 
a  good  deal,  alleging  that  it  had  been  prepared  not  only  in 
Sofia  but  at  Zurich.  The  Bulgarians  had  wanted  to  make 
peace  and  be  left  in  peaceful  possession  of  their  conquests, 
but  this  had  been  refused,  he  said. 

G.  then  began  to  discuss  the  eventful  settlement  and  was 
strongly  pro-Poland,  believing  that  the  so-called  Austrian 


1918]  MONSIGNORE  CERRETT1  441 

solution  w as  host .  1  low  did  we  propose  to  restore  order  and 
stability  in  Europe  ?  We  could  not  cut  the  throats  of  a 
hundred  million  Germans;  and  if  we  destroyed  Austria  we 
should  leave  several  weak  states  to  be  eaten  11  p  at  leisure 
by  a  discontented  Germany.  We  would  take  our  troops 
away.  America  would  do  the  same,  and  the  sooner  the  better, 
( r.  added,  to  my  amusement.  What  State  other  and  better 
than  a  Hapsburg  federation  could  oppose  a  beaten  Germany 
when  her  power  of  organisation  restored  her  to  much  of  her 
old  strength  ?  Poland  he  knew.  It  had  a  history  and  tradi- 
tions. But  what  was  Jugo-Slavia,  what  were  its  confines, 
language,  history,  and  traditions  ?  He  did  not  know  of 
them.  I  said  that  I  agreed,  but  that  I  was  in  a  minority  on 
this  point,  and  that  Austria  would  be  much  diminished. 
He  said  that  Sonnino  agreed  with  us,  and  that  what  our 
diplomacy  was  preparing  was  the  resuscitation  of  Germany 
and  the  enslavement  of  Austria.  But,  he  added.- -and  he 
returned  to  the  point  more  than  once — at  the  Vatican  we 
are  only  concerned  with  the  religious  point  of  view  and  take 
no  part  in  politics.  It  was  difficult  to  see  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion, but  I  did  not  refer  to  this,  nor  to  Ireland,  as  I  do  not 
know  the  present  point  of  view  at  home.  I  left  him  in  no 
doubt  at  all  that  our  victory  in  the  war  wras  assured.  We 
ranged  over  the  map  and  discussed  personalities  and  ideas. 
I  found  him  witty  and  fond  of  a  joke.  A  strong,  self-confident 
personality,  well  armed  with  information  on  every  point  we 
discussed  ;  quick,  alert,  and  combative.  In  the  Borgia  days 
1  should  not  have  cared  to  dine  with  him  had  he  disliked  me. 
He  speaks  pretty  good  French.  I  told  him,  by  the  way,  that 
1  was  not  a  Catholic,  and  sympathised  with  Protestant 
Ulster      h  was  not  the  religions  question  that  interested  me, 

but  the  politico-military  question. 

1  then  took  my  leave  of  him  and  went  up  to  Cerretti,  who 

received  me  at  once.     I  told  him  the  pith  of  my  request  to 

the  Cardinal,  and  finding  that   the  matter  was  of  the  Uon- 

Bignore'l  OOmpetenrr.  and  that  <  'animal  <  uisquct  and  Father 

Langdon  may  ool  be  here  till  the  12th,  I  asked  Cerretti  to 
strange  the  correspondence.    This  he  undertook  to  do,  and 


442  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

I  promised  to  write  also,  laying  stress  on  the  need  for  plain 
speaking  and  upon  a  mutual  understanding  not  to  be  vexed 
with  frankness.  Cerretti  speaks  a  sort  of  American-English 
fairly  well.  The  great  hope  of  the  Church  is  Anglo-Saxon- 
dom  since  the  Latin  races  began  to  desert  the  churches,  and 
I  hope  that  we  shall  get  the  correspondence  in  order  before 
long.  I  had  left  three  rosaries  with  the  Cardinal,  with  the 
request  that  the  Pope  should  bless  them  for  three  faithful 
daughters  of  the  Church  in  England.  I  had  not  been  talking 
to  Cerretti  for  twenty  minutes  before  a  messenger  from  the 
Cardinal  brought  them  back  duly  blessed.  So  it  was  true, 
as  I  had  been  warned  by  young  de  Salis,  that  the  Cardinal 
would  go  straight  to  the  Pope  and  tell  him  all  that  had 
passed  between  us.  I  found  Cerretti  much  interested  in 
Mr.  Hughes  and  his  future  as  a  politician.  A  keen, 
quick-witted  Italian,  anxious  to  please.  Both  he  and  the 
Cardinal  discussed  numerous  matters  which  I  have  not 
noted  here. 

After  lunch  Dr.  Malagodi,  the  director  of  the  Tribuna,  came 
up  to  my  rooms,  and  we  had  a  good  talk.  I  told  him  that 
I  had  come  here  to  obtain  better  information  about  the 
political  situation  in  Italy,  and  that  I  wanted  him  to  discuss 
it  with  me  and  would  then  make  a  proposal  to  him.  For  an 
hour  and  a  half  he  ranged  over  the  whole  field,  and  I  found 
him  judicious,  logical,  and  apparently  unbiased  by  any  crank 
theories  or  political  association.  He  holds,  strongly,  the  Diaz 
view  of  the  military  situation,  and  goes  further  by  asking 
whether  Germany,  instead  of  attempting  the  recovery  of 
Bulgaria,  may  not  aim  a  blow  at  Italy.  He  holds  to  the 
Treaty  of  London  as  regards  peace  terms,  and  declares  that 
Italy  must  have  Trieste  and  all  Istria,  including  Pola.  The 
Cardinal  had  told  me,  by  the  way,  that  I  could  regard  peace 
terms  between  Italy  and  Austria  as  already  settled  in 
advance,  and  that  the  difficulties  in  the  Adriatic,  Trieste 
included,  would  be  overcome  by  granting  a  form  of 
autonomy  to  the  regions  in  dispute. 

In  the  late  afternoon  the  painter  brought  my  cartoons. 
They  include  the  first  of  a  series  of  allegorical  battle  pictures 


1918]    THE  HOUSEHOLD  CAT  OF  EUROPE      443 

of  the  war. — that  is  to  say,  the  red  chalk  drawing  of  it — the 
chalk  sketch  of  the  picture  '  Life  and  Death,'  and  the  chalk 
drawing  of  a  frieze  in  the  Aleotti  Villa,  and  some  smaller 
sketches.  I  find  that  he  has  studied  and  has  won  the  first 
Prize  at  Milan  by  twenty-nine  on1  oi  thirty  votes  ;  also  at 
Turin.    He  is  thirty-three,  and  has  painted  for  eleven  years. 

I  saw  Mr.  William  Miller,  Morning  Post  correspondent, 
to-day.  and  had  tea  with  him  and  his  wife  at  36  Via  Palestro. 
A  clever  man  with  good  judgment,  but  his  political  views  differ 
from  mine.  He  is  for  destroying  Austria.  He  told  me  that 
the  so-called  Reuter  reports  of  debates  here  are  from  the 
Stefani  Agency,  which  is  disliked  by  all  journalists,  but  has 
some  hold  over  the  Government.  It  is  run  by  a  man  called 
Friedlander.  who  has  an  Austrian  wife.  The  so-called  Rome 
wireless  which  figures  in  English  papers  no  one  here  can 
trace.  The  Stefani  Agency  frequently  bowdlerises  debates, 
and  its  messages  are  tendentious.  He  asked  me  to  warn 
Gwynne.  Miller  a  good,  cool,  independent  man  with  much 
knowledge  of  Italy. 

Thursday,  Oct.  3.  Went  to  the  Embassy,  and  Rodd 
showed  me  over  it.  He  has  some  nice  Italian  pictures. 
The  house  has  been  greatly  improved.  He  thinks  Italian 
officials  honest,  and  that  editors  cannot  be  bought.  The 
public  care  little  for  the  Chambers,  but  care  much  for  muni- 
cipal politics.  Rodd  has  always  found  the  leading  Italian 
papers  straight,  i.e.  the  Tribuna,  Corriere,  G.  ([■Italia, 
M>Msagero,  Secolo,  etc. 

Lunched  with  de  Salis,  Bogey,  and  the  American  Stewart, 
who  iff  doing  here  the  same  as  Cravath  in  London,  on 
a  reduced  scale.  Much  chaff  about  Jugoslavia.  Bogey 
declares  the  Vatican  to  de  the  household  eat  of  Europe,  and 
whenever  anything  is  lost,  or  the  cream  disappears,  the  cat 

,<  cused.      De  .v    Bays  that  when  the  Boche  j^cts  beaten  he 

beats  his  pri    •  md  wh<  n  we  get  beat  we  beat  the  Vatican. 

The  Americans  are  adaptable  people,  and  arc  wry  popular 

hc-re.  They  are  accused  oi  mixing  ii|>  Red  Cross  and 
Propaganda.      1    Chaffed    Stewart     about    carrying    Chicago 

aplet  under  the  tail-board  of  his  ambulances.     De  8.  Bays 

V"L.    II. 


444  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

that  they  think  in  London  that  a  Catholic  British  Minister 
spends  his  time  in  kneeling  to  His  Holiness  when  he  has 
an  audience,  but,  as  a  fact,  he  often  speaks  very  frankly  to 
him,  and  it  would  be  no  good  having  a  Minister  who  would 
not  speak  frankly.  The  Vatican  see  it,  and  know  that  this 
is  the  only  way  to  get  on.  I  told  him  that  after  studying 
the  Cardinal  I  did  not  want  to  look  further  for  the  dominating 
influence  at  the  Vatican.  De  S.  was  glad  that  I  had  come  to 
see  for  myself.  Some  people  thought  that  Gasparri  was  a 
querulous  old  woman  in  petticoats,  but  I  had  seen  what  a 
strong  individuality  he  possessed.  He  was  acute,  perfectly 
informed,  and  had  more  statesmanship  than  all  our  War 
Cabinet  put  together.  Besides,  the  Vatican  could  always 
wait,  which  ephemeral  governments  could  not.  It  was  a 
great  business  organisation,  perfectly  well-ordered,  and  very 
alert.  De  S.  could  not  tell  me  much  of  Vatican  finance 
except  that  they  seemed  to  want  for  nothing  and  never  beat 
the  big  drum  or  sent  the  hat  round.  They  had  much  money 
invested,  but  not  in  Italy  for  fear  of  confiscation. 

In  the  afternoon  I  had  an  invitation  from  the  Princess 
Faustina  to  go  and  stay  with  her  at  Viareggio,  but  I  have 
been  away  so  long  that  I  cannot  manage  it.  Later,  I  saw  de 
Martino,  the  Secretary -General  to  the  Foreign  Office  here. 
An  office  stacked  with  papers.  A  smallish  man,  confident, 
logical,  and  well  informed  ;  a  good  talker,  and  he  galloped 
me  round  the  diplomatic  steeple -chase  course  discussing  all 
points  of  interest.  I  asked  him  if  I  might  speak  plainly  to 
him,  and,  receiving  permission,  said  a  good  many  things  about 
Italian  policy,  and  he  replied  to  me  very  frankly.  Orlando 
has  just  made  a  statement  in  the  Chambers,  and  is  off  to  Paris 
for  an  Allied  Council  on  Bulgaria.  The  Chambers  are  pro- 
rogued till  the  10th,  I  think.  De  M.  told  me  that  there  was 
nothing  for  Italy  to  do  but  to  hold  to  the  Treaty  of  London 
and  to  admit  no  compromise.  But  when  the  terms  of  the 
settlement  were  finally  discussed,  then  accommodation  was 
possible,  and  no  doubt  Italy  would  then  accept  modifications 
on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Adriatic.  The  idea  is  that  Italy 
may  surrender  some  claims  to  the  Southern  Slavs  that  she 


1918]  DE  MARTINOS  VIEWS  445 

would  not  surrender  to  Austria.  Italy  was  in  danger  of 
being  stilled  in  the  Mediterranean  by  the  ambitions  of  the 
Powers.  He  thought  that  France  and  Italy  must  agree, 
because  Italy  took  the  place  of  Russia  for  France,  and  Italy 
herself  had  to  work  with  Franco.  But  it  was  no  use  for 
Prance  to  talk  of  the  Latin  Sister, and  so  forth,  unless  material 
advantages  were  offered  to  Italy,  and  affairs  of  the  Eastern 
Mediterranean  deeply  concerned  Italy's  future.  Italy  is 
relentlessly  practical  and  without  sentiment,  quite  the  re- 
verse of  the  usual  opinion.  She  is  logical  and  follows  out 
real-poltiik.  De  M.  believed  that  all  Italy  desired  to  march 
with  England,  and  hoped  that  we  were  on  the  same  lines. 
1  obtained  his  views  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  and  we  parted 
on  cordial  terms. 

At  the  hotel  I  found  Malagodi  and  had  another  talk  with 
him.  He  assured  me  that  the  Tribuna  belongs  to  very  rich 
people  who  leave  him  absolute  freedom,  and  that  he  is 
independent  of  all  control.     Dined  vilely  at  the  Caccia  Club. 

I  have  omitted  to  say  that  I  asked  Cerretti  about  Ledo- 
ehowsky.  the  General  of  the  Jesuits,  and  asked  why  they  kept 
linn  in  Switzerland  with  a  great  separate  organisation.  It 
was  not  good  stall  work.  He  reminded  me,  however,  that 
the  General  was  either  an  Austrian  or  a  German  subject,  he 
Mid  not  remember  which,  and  had  been  deported  in  con- 
sequence. He  had  taken  with  him  the  British,  French, 
American,  and  other  Missions,  who  were  still  with  him  in 
Switzerland.    '  Then  why  do  you  nol  relievehim?'  I  asked. 

Because  the  appointment  is  for  life  and  we  can't  do  it,'  C. 
replied.  It"  one  of  our  political  lunatics  learns  that  there  is 
i  British  Mission  under  an  alien  enemy  in  a  neutral  country, 
there  will  be  a  nice  fuss  I  The  Cardinal  told  me  that  some 
of  the  Vatican  letters  had  been  opened,  and  1  must  find  out 
more  about  tin-  junketings  of  the  Vatican  Bag.  Note  that 
I  found  at  the  Vatican,  as  elsewhere,  no  trace  of  any  hostility 

Let  ween  t  he  <  hnii  nal  and  j  ho  Vatican,  but  rat  her  t  he  reverse. 
The\   an-  like  man  and  wife  who  may  fall  out.,  hat  together 

tall  on  a  thud  part}  who  intervenes.    The  temporal  power 
ory  is  long    Ince  stifled,     [f  it  were  oiiVred,  the  Pope  would 


446  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

take  to  flight.  He  could  not  address  a  cab  strike  from 
St.  Peter's.  He  has  all  the  advantages,  under  the  Law 
of  Guarantees,  of  a  peaceable  existence,  and  none  of  the 
worries  of  managing  a  democracy.  Who,  then,  would  wish 
to  change  ?  They  do  not  even  grumble  at  having  their 
wireless  station  confiscated  for  the  war.  They  are  Italians 
first  and  realise  the  salus  populi  principle.  People  who 
think  that  they  please  the  Quirinal  by  attacking  the 
Vatican  make  a  great  mistake. 

As  for  the  Blacks  and  TeutophiHsm,  I  think  that  the  great 
Roman  families  who  have  been  contumacious,  are,  with  a 
few  exceptions,  mainly  influenced  not  by  religious  but  by 
aristocratic  considerations.  They  hate  democracy  in  all  its 
forms,  and  love  the  feudal  ideas  which  the  Austrian  Court 
represents. 

Friday,  Oct.  4.  Met  Lord  Southborough  in  the  morning 
on  his  way  to  India  to  clear  up  the  Montagu  reforms.  He 
tells  me  that  Lord  French  has  become  a  Home  Ruler,  that 
Conscription  will  not  be  enforced,  and  that  the  Majority 
Report  of  the  Irish  Conference  will  form  the  basis  of  a  Bill  for 
the  Ulster  men  to  pull  about.  The  question  of  an  Election 
seems  still  open.  L.  G.  is  for  it,  because  he  hopes  to  get  a 
majority  for  five  years'  lease  of  fife,  but  neither  Tories  nor 
others  are  keen  about  it. 

Went  to  see  Bergomini,  Sonnino's  intimate  friend. 
Bergomini  a  superior  character,  quick,  forcible,  and  at- 
tractive. Much  talk  of  Italian  politics  with  Bergomini  and 
Vettori.  They  each  own  other  journals  in  the  provinces. 
Vettori  is  one  of  the  best  of  Italian  journalists.  People 
seem  to  live  on  very  small  incomes  here  in  spite  of  the 
awful  prices  of  everything,  and  I  cannot  but  admire  the 
high  sense  of  public  duty  which  I  find  here,  and  the  strong 
patriotism  and  independence  of  the  leading  pressmen. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  darling  wish  of  every  Italian 
heart  just  now  is  to  have  a  large  block  of  American  troops 
in  Italy.  They  cannot  afford,  politically,  to  end  the  war  with 
Austria  in  Venetia,  and  they  cannot  afford  to  gain  less  than 
Austria  offered  them  before  the  war,  because  this  would  give 


1918]  CARDINAL  GASQUET  447 

too  good  a  case  to  the  Socialist  elements.  I  believe  that  the 
Trentino,  Trieste,  and  Pola  would  satisfy  Italy.  I  do  not 
think  that  the  shrewdest  people  here  wish  to  break  up 
Austria.  It  is  not  part  of  Italy's  war  aims.  If  it  comes 
they  will  accept  it,  but  they  will  not  press  it.  They  do  not 
want  a  Germany  always  on  their  backs,  and  they  laugh  at 
Wiokham  Steed's  idea  of  a  semicircle  of  Slav  States  round 
Germany,  believing  that  they  would  be  snapped  up  one  by 
one.     Jugo-Slavia  is  a  perpetual  source  of  sarcasm. 

In  the  afternoon  drove  off  to  the  English  Cardinal 
Gasquet's  palace  and  had  tea  with  him  and  his  secretary, 
Father  Philip  Langdon.  The  Cardinal  a  charming  and 
courteous  old  gentleman.  He  showed  me  over  his  palace, 
which  had  some  pleasant  rooms.  Every  Cardinal's  house 
has  a  Throne  Room  with  a  great  chair  for  throne,  and 
when  there  is  no  Pope  at  the  house  it  is  tinned  round 
facing  the  wall  so  that  no  one  else  may  sit  upon  it. 
As  the  Pope  never  leaves  the  Vatican  now,  the  palaces  of 
the  cardinals  have  each  a  room  and  a  big  chair  wasted. 
I  suppose  that  this  will  continue  till  the  end  of  time. 
We  had  a  good  talk  at  tea,  where  Father  P.  L.  joined  us. 
An  energetic  Benedictine  with  a  strong  face  and  equally 
strong  views.  He  and  the  Cardinal  told  many  good  stories 
of  Rome  and  of  the  strange  treatment  of  the  Vatican  by  all 
and  .sundry.  If  these  are  correct  and  the  Vatican  publishes 
accounts  of  its  proceedings  during  the  war,  I  should  say  that 
it  will  come  better  out  of  things  than  most  Governments. 
I  was  told  that  the  Pope  promised  to  make  a  great  protest 
to  the  world  if  a  single  case  could  be  proved  of  the  violation 
of  Belgian  nuns,  or  of  the  cutting  oil  of  children's  hands. 
An  inquiry  uas  instituted  and  many  cases  examined  with 
the  help  oi  (  ordinal  Merrier  who  was  here.  Not  one  case 
could  be  proved.  One  handless  child  was  found,  but  the 
evidence  pointed  to  the  mother  having  amputated  the  ohild 'a 
hand  for  purposes  <>f  begging  I  Little  of  the  good  work 
done  by  t  h<-  Vatican  rt  prisoner  eem  to  have  been  acknow- 
ledged. The  complain!  in  general  is  thai  the  Vatioan  case 
i-  never  presented   f.iirly  to  the  world,      I   was  given  many 


448  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

instances.  Both  scoffed  at  the  supposed  hostility  of  the 
Quirinal :  actually  there  is  a  high  official  of  the  Italian 
Government  who  comes  to  the  Vatican  daily,  and  the 
accord  seems  close.  By  the  way,  a  Cardinal  is  Illustris- 
simo  and  a  Monsignore  Reverendissimo.  But  a  jockey 
may  be  illustrious  and  cannot  well  be  reverend.  I  should 
have  thought  that  the  '  most  reverend  '  should  be  placed 
first. 

Great  difficulty  in  getting  away  from  Rome.  Sir  S.  Hoare, 
in  charge  of  passports,  says  the  minimum  time  to  get  them 
vised  is  four  days.  One  might  be  here  for  ever  if  one  were 
taken  in  by  this  gammon.  The  hall  porters  at  the  hotels 
have  been  trafficking  with  sleeping-car  tickets,  with  the  result 
that  they  are  now  only  given  out  on  the  day  of  departure, 
and  claimants  have  to  make  a  queue  at  7  a.m.  and  take  their 
chance.  It  is  about  10  to  1  against  getting  one.  Spent  the 
late  afternoon  in  overcoming  these  obstacles,  and  succeeded, 
thanks  to  Vachelli,  Rocke,  and  Scarbrough's  very  intel- 
ligent young  nephew,  Robin  Hollway,  now  assistant  to 
Rocke,  who  blandly  signed  an  Italian  movement  order 
for  me. 

In  the  evening  I  dined  with  de  Salis  and  Bogey.  The 
former  gets,  nominally,  £3500  a  year.  After  taxes,  etc.,  it 
comes  to  £2000  only,  and  de  S.  loses  money  daily.  As  for 
Bogey,  he  is  unpaid,  and  as  he  pays  £800  a  year  for  his  rooms 
alone,  and  does  some  entertaining,  serving  the  Government 
costs  him  £3000  a  year.  Now  the  Germans  and  Austrians — 
and  probably  the  Americans  later,  for  they  are  becoming 
alive  to  the  moral  forces  which  the  Vatican  controls — may 
be  presently  represented  by  well-found  missions  with  ample 
funds.  We  have  got  a  start  if  we  can  use  it,  but  the  Boches 
do  things  well  here  and  entertain  freely.  Von  Billow's 
hospitality  was  particularly  princely,  and  all  this  will  re- 
commence at  the  Peace.  The  French  Mission  has  stupidly 
been  withdrawn.  De  S.  cannot  compete  on  £2000  a  year, 
and  at  least  should  have  an  entertaining  allowance  of  £2000 
a  year.  It  might  well  come  out  of  propaganda  funds,  for  the 
British  propaganda  here  is  of  the  most  useless  character  by 


1918]  AMERICAN  POPULARITY  410 

all  accounts.  The  Americans  do  things  better — open  every 
sort  of  helpful  agency,  look  after  the  children  of  men  at  the 
front,  supply  the  wants  of  the  people,  give  milk  to  the  babies, 
and  in  a  score  of  ways  win  the  affections  of  the  people. 
It  is  said  that  o.~>  per  cent,  of  the  American  troops  are 
Catholics  ;  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  other  Catholic 
agencies  give  generous  help.  The  Americans  have  con- 
sequently become  the  most  popular  people  here,  though 
some  English,  like  Lad)'  Rodd  and  Mrs.  Ross,  have  done 
much  good. 

1  went  down  to  the  fountain  of  Trevi  and  threw  in  the 
usual  tribute  for  my  return  to  Rome  again.  It  is  well  to 
beep  one  or  two  cherished  superstitions.  Poor  Robertson 
did  not  do  so.  He  may  have  got  as  far  as  the  fountain,  but 
one  may  bring  a  Scot  to  Trevi  and  not  bo  able  to  induce  him 
to  contribute  the  bawbee  ! 

Saturday,  Oct.  •"».  Ferdinand  of  Bulgaria  abdicates  in 
favour  of  his  son,  Boris,  thus  hoping  to  get  the  best  of  both 
worlds.  Vettori  told  me  yesterday  that  the  last  Cabinet 
here  agreed  to  accept  the  unified  command,  and  that  the 
reference  to  it  in  Orlando's  speech  was  understood  in  this 
sense.  The  Government  thus  protects  itself  from  the 
dangers  of  its  military  position,  and  the  next  word  is  with 
Pooh. 

Father  Langdon  came  in  at  l<»  this  morning  and  said  that 
we  DOukl  talk  more  freely  alone.  He  is  a  mine  of  informa- 
tion on  Vatican  questions.  He  talked  of  Ireland,  Foreign 
Missions,  and  India,  and  was  very  illuminating  on  all 
point  B. 

I  did  DOf  talk  to  Father  Langdon  on  the  subject,  but 
1  think  that  it  would  he  better  for  us  to  foster  and  watch 
the  Irish  College  here  than  to  boom  Maynooth.  At  the 
latter  place,  though  the  education  is  good,  the  young  priest 

hood  brood  too  much  over  Irish  grievances,  and  they  Leave 
Sinn  Peiners.  Serein  Rome  the]  find  themselves  in  a  larger 
world,  rub  shoulders  with  Englishmen,  Boots,  and  foreigners 

Of  all  races,  and  regain  Q  I  n  e  of  |  'rope  n  t  ion.  It  would  be 
he  t  to  olOM  MaynOOth.      But   we  should   keep  an  eye  on  the 


450  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

training  staff  at  the  Irish  College  here  and  see  that  proper 
men  are  appointed  to  teach.  There  are  anti-British  influ- 
ences here,  too,  and  they  should  be  gradually  shouldered 
out. 

Pope  Benedict's  election,  like  Bonar  Law's,  was  due  to  a 
division  of  opinion  about  two  other  rival  candidates  for  the 
Papacy.  He  was  the  tertius  gaudens.  I  do  not  believe  him 
to  be  either  pro-German  or  pro-Austrian.  He  has  never 
held  a  post  in  either  country.  He  was  Rampolla's  man  of 
confidence  formerly.  Rampolla  was  Francophil,  and  Austria 
negatived  his  election  to  the  Papacy.  Who  has  most  in- 
fluence with  the  Pope  is  a  question.  I  imagine  Gasparri, 
from  his  strong  personality ;  but  Tedeschini  is  his  personal 
friend,  and  I  am  not  yet  sure  that  the  latter's  influence  is  so 
slight  as  some  people  tell  me  it  is. 

The  Pope's  Peace  Note,  I  am  informed,  was  not  drawn 
up  by  himself  alone,  but  by  the  whole  of  the  Vatican  forces. 
What  they  did  was  to  take  the  public  statements  of  all  the 
leading  statesmen  of  the  belligerents  and  to  select  and  lay 
stress  upon  the  points  on  which  they  seemed  to  be  in  agree- 
ment. But  this  assumed  that  public  statements  corre- 
sponded with  real  thoughts,  and  this  was  not  by  any  means 
the  case  !  The  note  was  submitted  to  the  Italian  Govern- 
ment and  was  seen  by  one  of  my  Italian  acquaintances 
five  days  before  it  was  published.  The  Quirinal  merely 
stated  that  the  moment  for  publication  was  inoppor- 
tune. The  Vatican  thought  not,  because  they  had  heard 
from  their  Nuncios  abroad  that  both  Germany  and  Austria 
desired  to  treat.  But  just  when  the  Note  was  published 
(August  1917),  the  Russian  Revolution  was  becoming 
Bolshevist,  and  the  Central  Powers,  seeing  Russia's  im- 
pending collapse,  changed  their  views,  to  the  Vatican's 
intense  chagrin. 

I  think  that  there  are  some  of  the  best  brains  in  the 
world  at  the  service  of  the  Vatican,  and  that  its  moral 
force  and  weight  will  increase  steadily,  particularly  in  the 
British  Empire  and  America,  and  the  faster  the  more  it  is 
martyrised.     Its  published  documents  need  careful  reading. 


1918]  VA'lh  AN  INFLUENCE  451 

Every  phrase  and  word  is  weighed.  Such  a  letter  as  that 
of  the  Pope  to  the  Irish  bishops  reads  to  Italians  like  a 
severe  rebuke  ;  to  ns  it  has  no  such  signification.  We  miss 
the  meaning  of  the  subtle  phrases.  You  have  to  knock  an 
Englishman  down  with  an  argument  to  make  him  understand 
it.  The  Vatican  is  still  in  the  old  traditions  of  mediaeval 
diplomacy  :  the  phrasing  is  too  subtle  for  non-Latin  races. 
But  the  severities  are  reserved  for  private  letters,  in  which 
the  real  opinions  come  out,  and  most  of  the  rating  is  done  by 
their  mea 

1  think  that  just  now  wo  might,  but  probably  America  Mill, 
be  good  friends  with  the  Vatican.  The  Vatican  is  Italian. 
Two  brothers  of  the  Pope  were  admirals  in  the  Italian  Navy  : 
all  the  Vatican  leaders,  or  most  of  them,  have  brothers  and 
other  relations  in  the  Italian  Parliament,  Army,  Navy,  or 
Administration.  The  Quirinal  and  the  Vatican  work  to- 
gether now,  and  nothing  is  gained  when  we  support  one  and 
denounce  the  other.  De  Salis,  Langdon  tells  me,  is  the  most 
able  and  intelligent  of  all  the  diplomatists  in  Rome,  but  it  is 
commonly  said  that  no  one  in  London  heeds  him.  1  think 
that  the  moral  forces  which  the  Vatican  controls,  and  the 
political  weight  that  eomes  from  them,  are  very  great.  A 
restored  Poland,  and  an  America  one-third  Catholic,  will 
ISO  the  Vatican's  power,  but  it  will  take  a  man  of  courage 
and  far  sight  in  England  to  draw  the  right  conclusions. 
When  1  told  Gasparri  thai  my  sympathies  were  with  Ulster, 
he  did  uotaltei  hi-  manner  in  the  least. 

The  geograpl  ical  situation  of  Italy  and  her  islands  makes 
it  indispensable  for  her  to  he  allied  with  a  strong  naval  power. 
There  is  a  good  feeling  towards  England  and  a  deep  desire 
t1-  ;n-t  with  her.  hut  the  Americans  are  taking  our  place  '  very 
fi-t.      (,111.  rtionfl  of  the  sea  and  of  Italian  expansion  in  the 

Mediterranean  come  first  with  the  Quirinal,  while  Foreign 
Missions  and  Protectorates  weigh  heavily  with  the  Vatican. 
In  both,  Italy's  path  is  often  crossed  annecessarily  bj  certain 

i  :-.      The  Italian  population  will  in  a  few  yeail  Mirpass 

biota  '"■'  aw  'l  al  the  Pari    <  oafi  renoa  later  on  oil 
laaL 


452  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

that  of  France,  and  the  great  increase  of  industries  during 
the  war  will  allow  Italy  to  support  a  larger  population,  aside 
from  what  she  may  gain  at  the  Peace.  To  hold  a  just  balance 
between  France  and  Italy  hereafter  will  tax  all  the  wit  of 
our  F.O. 

I  think  that  Italy  will  get  over  the  winter  in  spite  of  serious 
difficulties.  Of  meat  there  is  only  enough  to  allow  3  lbs.  a 
month  per  head  of  the  population.  But  the  Army  is  now  again 
well  fed  and  contented.  All  the  leading  men  are  deeply 
concerned  about  the  Allied  failure  to  support  Italy  in  the 
recovery  of  Venetia,  and  I  regard  the  dispatch  of  three 
American  divisions  to  Italy,  and  promptly,  as  the  absolute 
minimum  to  keep  the  country  in  good  mood.  Colonel 
Buckey,  the  American  Military  Attache,  tells  me  that  he  has 
given  the  same  advice  at  Washington,  and  strongly  urged  me 
to  press  the  i^oint  at  Paris. 

This  will  not  be  enough  for  an  offensive,  but  it  will  have  a 
great  moral  effect,  particularly  if  the  reinforcements  march 
from  the  Alps  by  many  roads  and  show  themselves  to  as 
many  people  as  possible.  Some  might  come  to  Genoa, 
Leghorn,  and  even  Civita  Vecchia,  and  reach  the  front  by 
march  route.  We  could  spread  exaggerated  tales  of  their 
strength.  As  for  the  offensive  in  Italy,  it  is  a  question  for 
Foch,  and  I  think  that  Italians  trust  him. 

I  regard  the  Sardinian  and  Roman  troops,  together  with  the 
Alpini,  the  Arditi,  and  the  Czechs,  as  the  best  here.  The 
Sicilians  are  great  when  they  are  in  form,  but  they  are 
unequal.  The  mountains  all  over  Italy  supply  good  men. 
The  peasants,  generally,  are  hard,  and  good  in  the  attack. 
At  this  moment  the  Austrians  in  Italy  have  from  1200  to 
1400  more  heavy  and  medium  guns  than  Diaz  has. 

As  for  the  Navy  and  the  Admiralissimo  question  I  have 
told  everybody  who  has  asked  for  my  opinion  that  a  British 
admiral  ought  to  command  in  the  Mediterranean.  To  place 
the  Italians  at  Taranto,  the  French  at  Corfu,  and  other  people 
at  other  places,  is  to  ask  for  trouble.  But  Italian  pride 
cannot  stomach  a  French  Command  of  the  Army  and  a 
British  of  the  Navy.     Besides,  the  Adriatic  is  regarded  as 


1918]  AN  ARMISTICE  REQUESTED  453 

an  Italian  sea. —  mart  nostrum- -and  the  defence  of  all  the 
east  coast  of  Italy  is  closely  bound  up  with  naval  operations 
in  this  sea.  This  defence  Italy  will  not  readily  abandon 
to  any  one.  So  I  have  merely  stated  my  opinion,  and  have 
left  it  at  that.  I  have  been  asked  to  write  for  several  papers 
and  have  refused.  The  Ihilie,  whose  editor's  letter  I  did 
not  answer,  has  heaped  coals  of  tire  on  my  head  by  eulo- 
gising me  to-day. 

1  Bhould  say.  on  the  whole,  that  it  is  even  more  import- 
ant to  have  good  reports  from  Italy  than  from  France. 
Italy  is  farther  off  and  less  in  touch  with  us.  The  modern 
Italian  is  not  much  understood  by  us,  and  the  Vatican 
imports  into  Italian  policy  a  whole  set  of  delicate  and  im- 
portant  questions.  I  see  no  reason  why  our  man  at  the 
V.iti<  an  should  not  be  a  Protestant  so  long  as  he  has  fine 
diplomatic  judgment.  In  Rome  itself  success  is  made  up 
of  doing  a  vast,  number  of  small  things  the  right  way. 

|  ey  looked  in  to  sa\  good  bye  while  1  was  dining  in  my 
rooms.  Be  told  me  thai  Cardinal  Gasparri  had  told  de  Salis 
that  he  was  greatly  interested  by  his  talk  with  me,  and  said 
the  kindest  things-  I  sent  back  word  that  I  had  found  the 
Vatican  fit  at  Major  very  efficient,  and  that  I  hoped  that  the 
liaison  service  would  now  work,  but  that  I  advised  him  to 
improve  hia  £cole  de  Gu<  rre  for  Nuncios. 

Bialagodi  came  in,  too.  Colonel  Buckey  came  again  to 
impress  upon  me  the  \  ital  importance  of  American  divisions 
being  sent  to  Italy.     Left  Rome,  9.30  p.m.,  for  Paris. 

8unday,  Oct.  6.  On  my  journey  with  prospect  of  two 
nights  and  a  day  in  the  train  and  little  food  or  drink.  At 
Turin  we  heard  of  the  German  proposal  for  an  armistice. 
It  provoked  intense  interesl  among  the  people,  who  crowded 
round  every  man  who  had  a  paper  with  the  first  announce- 
ment. M.  Gaston  Caimans  Levy,  the  publisher,  is  mj 
travelling  companion.  He  works  al  Genoa,  and  is  in  naval 
uniform.  He  and  other  Frenchmen  nol  at  all  enthusiastic 
about  an  armistice  unless  the  Boche  <piiis  France  and  Bel 
gium.  A  ouriousrj  disobliging  communiqtU  in  the  Frenoh 
I'm   -  o,d.i\  about  Orlando's  last  speech,  saying  that  it  wai 


454  ITALY  AND  THE  VATICAN 

taken  to  mean  that  Foch  had  not  asked  the  Italians  to  attack, 
and  that  this  was  a  false  impression.  I  should  say  that  it 
will  make  the  Italians  rabid.  It  is  true,  but  why  make  bad 
blood  since  it  is  past  history  now  ?  Cavan x  has  just  re- 
turned post  haste  from  England. 

1  This  day  Lord  Cavan  was  called  to  Italian  Headquarters,  and  the  plan 
of  attack  on  the  Austrians  was  unfolded. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

THE  FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 
OCTOBER  AND  NOVEMBER  1918 

;rn  to  Paris — A  French  Communique — Talk  with  M.  Mandcl — 
.|ti<stion  of  our  effectives — Our  Army  the  best  offensive  weapon 
POTT  QfimnnOflftn  sleeps —Visit  to  G.H.Q.  sit  CJouy — General 
Lawrence's  opinions  on  the  situation — Our  artillery  successes — The 
German  distribution — Return  to  London — M.  Coleyn's  views — 
Military  events  and  President  Wilson's  diplomacy — The  victory  of 
the  King  of  the  Belgians  east  of  Ypres — Progress  of  all  the  Allied 
Annie-  -Mr.  Cravat h  on  America — General  Ludendorff  resigns — 
General  AUenby  ii  Aleppo  after  capturing  75,000  prisoners  and 
340  guns — Tho  Italo-British  victory  in  Italy — The  Austrian  retreat 
becomes  a  rout — General  Chetwode  on  the  I'm!  -< inn  campaign — 
Successes  of  Allies  and  Americans — The  Germans  in  retreat  on  all 
—Outlook  in  Germany — Hatred  of  the  Germans  in  Allied 
countries — Tho  Austrian  Armistice  conditions — A  letter  from  Sir 
Charles  Townshend — The  Germans  given  seventy-two  hours  to  accept 
tho  Armistice— The  Kaiser  abdicates — Armistice  Day,  November  11 — 
Rejoicing  in  London — Severe  conditions  imposed — Proclamation  of 
Marshal  Foch  to  the  Armi>  s. 

Monday,  Oct.  7.  Arrived  Paris,  10.30  a.m.  Newton  King, 
K.M.,  in  the  train,  and  had  much  talk  with  him.  A  King's 
Mem  Bger  Minimis  me  of  the  story  of  ono  of  them  who  dined 
with  de  Satis  al  the  Palazzo  Borghese,  and,  after  dinner,  said, 
in  a  solemn  tone,  how  dreadful  it  was  to  think  of  all  the 
people  who  had  been  murdered  in  tho  house.  De  S.  at  sea 
at  first  and  thought  it  a  reflection  on  his  cook,  but  at  last 
ed  that  the  K.M.  had  confused  Borgia  with  Borghese. 
1  telephoned  to  om  Advanced  G.H.Q,  and  arranged  to  go 

then  Wednesday.      Lefl  word  at  the  Kmbassy  that  if  Derby 

wanted  t<>  hi-  me  I  was  available.    Spoke  to  Ian  Maloolm, 
who  it  over  here  with  L.  G.,  Bonar  Law.  and  Bob  Cecil. 

In  the  afternoon  sa*  M.  Mandel,  who  will  give  me  his  first 

i., . 


456   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

paper  to-morrow.  I  gave  him  a  bit  of  my  mind  concerning 
the  communique  about  Orlando  yesterday,  and  he  told  me 
that  Clemenceau  had  shown  it  to  Orlando  before  it  was 
published,  and  that  the  latter  had  admitted  it  was  true.1 
Curiouser  and  curiouser  !  Mandel  talked  about  Italy,  and 
I  defended  the  Italian  standpoint,  but  also  said  that  while 
I  defended  the  Italians  here,  I  defended  the  Foch  theory 
in  Italy.  I  said  that  I  thought  the  Latin  Sisters  ought  to 
agree  because  they  had  need  of  each  other.  Mandel  said 
that  he  would  arrange  for  me  to  see  Clemenceau  to-morrow, 
but  I  replied  that  I  did  not  wish  to  occupy  the  time  of  such 
a  busy  man,  and  that  I  was  entirely  in  sympathy  with  him 
and  had  nothing  to  add  to  my  last  conversation  with  him, 
unless  he  wished  to  know  my  views  about  Italy. 

Spent  the  evening  with  Mrs.  Leeds  and  we  exchanged 
news.  Later  in  the  evening,  Lady  Johnstone  ragged  me 
about  my  recent  articles  relating  to  the  failure  to  keep  up 
British  strengths,  and  said  they  were  doing  harm.  I  told  her 
my  mind  about  it ;  that  I  felt  very  strongly  on  the  subject, 
and  that  there  was  no  question  in  my  mind  of  hostility  to 
the  Government,  or  personal  feeling  against  any  member  of 
it.  The  point  was  that  the  War  Cabinet  were  not  playing 
the  game  by  the  Army. 

It  is  amusing  that  the  '  Supreme  '  War  Council  met  to-day 
and  could  do  no  more  than  adjourn  until  President  Wilson's 
answer  to  the  enemy  comes  to  hand.  The  supremacy  of 
the  supreme  ones  is  not  absolute.  Mandel  in  favour  of 
continuing  the  war  until  Germany  is  harder  hit.  He  is  for 
the  European  equipoise.  He  says  that  France,  with  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  will  still  be  only  forty  millions,  and  the  Bodies  still 
over  sixty  millions ;  and  that  if  we  go  on,  there  may  be  further 
defections  and  changes  to  our  advantage.  I  said  that  I  was 
all  for  the  balance  of  power.  We  had  gone  to  Avar  to  pre- 
serve it,  and  I  saw  no  point  in  making  a  peace  that  would 

1  Some  weeks  later  I  was  told  by  an  Italian  diplomatist  that  the  draft 
shown  to  Orlando  was  not  the  same  as  that  which  was  published.  The 
Italians  stopped  on  the  frontier  all  the  French  papers  containing  the 
French  communiqud. 


1918]  WAR  CABINET  MEASURES  457 

destroy  it.  Mandel  also  said  that  we  were  much  more 
interested  in  these  matters  than  President  Wilson.  I  said 
that  the  only  thing  olever  in  Max  of  Baden's  initiative  was 
the  playing  up  to  the  President.  Mandel  thought  that  an 
enlarged  Italy  would  always  be  weak,  because  Italians 
lacked  powers  of  organisation.  They  had  made  no  Army 
like  ours  after  three  years  of  war,  in  spite  of  starting  with  far 
better  military  resources  than  the  English.  I  said  that  it 
was  the  cadres  that  were  Italy's  weakness. 

/'/ v,  Oct.  8.  If.  Mandel  had  asked  me  to  ring  him  up 
at  10  a.m.  I  found  he  was  with  demenceail  and  would  be 
with  him  all  the  morning,  so  I  went  in  search  of  X.'s  man,  Y. 
1  had  left  Q.  the  mission  of  running  him  down  during  my 
ab-ence  in  Italy,  but  he  had  made  no  progress.  Ran  him 
to  ground. 

I  heard  that  all  the  Allies  have  attacked  successfully  this 
morning,  and  that  the  Americans  were  doing  well  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Meuse. 

During  the  time  that  I  was  with  Mandel  yesterday,  he  was 
in  constant  request  oyer  the  telephone  from  many  depart- 
ments. His  replies  were  good,  rapid,  and  concise.  Ho 
seems  to  me  the  neck  of  the  bottle  for  most  things  meant 
for  (  Hemenoeau,  and  settles  most  of  them  off-hand.  People 
also  came  in  to  him  with  Press  communiques  and  leaders, 
and  upon  these  also  he  gave  his  decisions. 

L.  G.  still  unregenerate  about  effectives,  and  declares  that 
ITS  cannot  possibly  keep  up  our  divisions.  He  is  said  to  be 
supported  by  General  Wilson.  Foch  had  been  fobbed  off  by 
L  (i.  with  the  promi-<-  thai  the  War  Cabinet  would  look  into 
the  matter  again,  and  by  an  undertaking  that  the  diversion  of 
men  id  Tanks  and  long-range  bombing  will  be  kept  within 
limit-.     We  have  over  a  quarter  of  a  million  men  in  the  Air 

M.r  already.      Abo.  1  he  War  Cabinet   have  ordered  that 

the  Grand  Fleet  shall  not  be  further  expanded,  and  that  all 
men  needed  for  anti  D  boerf  war  shaH  be  found  from  it.  We 
have  had  Too  ooo  i casualties  tins  year,  and  220,000  «>f  them 

in  the  (fjiirse  of  the  past  two  months.      L.  <>.  swears  that  as 

,u   :;oo  ouo  men  to  oome  in  need  year  ami  are 


458   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

likely  to  suffer  the  same  casualties  as  this  year,  we  cannot 
keep  up  the  Army,  and  the  divisions  must  be  reduced. 
This  is  a  very  natural,  but  also  a  curiously  superficial  way 
of  looking  at  things.  We  are  only  40,000  infantry  short  in 
France.  We  may  suffer  500,000  casualties  up  to  the  end 
of  next  June,  including  100,000  for  April,  May,  and  June 
each.  But  we  have  266,000  men  of  all  sorts  under  training 
at  home,  and  there  are  the  returned  wounded,  i.e.  about 
50  per  cent,  of  the  casualties,  and  the  men  to  come  in  from 
distant  expeditions  according  to  the  policy  already  laid  down. 
There  are  also  the  men  to  be  returned  from  the  convalescent 
camps  in  France,  and  of  course  the  young  class  of  the 
year.  There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  we  should 
not  keep  up  our  strengths  to  the  end  of  next  June  at 
all  events,  and  within  that  time  Foch  should  knock  the 
Boche  out.  I  fancy  the  War  Cabinet  do  not  realise  that 
only  two -thirds  of  our  casualties  have  to  be  replaced  from 
home.  L.  G.  understands  nothing  of  figures.  I  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  Auckland  Geddes  and  Macready  will 
keep  up  the  Army  with  their  tongues  in  their  cheeks  and 
let  L.  G.  prattle  on.  It  is  a  remarkable  feat  for  Geddes 
that,  near  the  end  of  such  fighting  as  this  year,  we  are  only 
40,000  infantry  down.  However,  I  must  see  what  they 
think  at  G.H.Q.  on  all  this  matter. 

In  general,  I  am  told  that  Foch  is  going  on  as  long  as  the 
weather  will  allow  him.  We  have  made  a  very  good  advance 
to-day, — seven  miles  in  places — which  probably  means  a  good 
bag  of  artillery.  We  have  taken  one  quarter  of  the  enemy's 
guns  since  July  15.  The  Boche  moral  is  undoubtedly  low, 
and  we  keep  on  taking  places  cheaply  that  we  could  not  have 
looked  at  six  months  ago.  Our  Army  is  in  fine  form.  I 
should  say  that  it  is  certainly  the  best  offensive  weapon  of 
all  the  Armies  here.  The  French  are  good,  but  have  not  quite 
the  old  sting.  The  Americans  suffered  heavily  in  their 
attack  between  the  Argonne  and  the  Meuse.  It  is  supposed 
some  100,000.  None  of  our  people  know  the  exact  figure,  as 
our  American  friends  do  not  tell  them.  Weygand  went 
down  to  help  the  Americans  out.     Foch  was  then  confirmed 


1918]  CLEMENCEAU  SLEEPS  459 

in  his  old  view  that  the  Americans  were  not  ready  to  fight 
as  an  Army,  and  should  be  distributed  amongst  the  French 
Armies.  Pershing  absolutely  refused,  and  Foch  felt  bound 
to  give  them,  another  chance,  as  Pershing  said  that  it  would 
be  all  right  next  time.  If  they  bleak  down  again,  Foch  may 
give  an  order  to  Pershing  to  distribute  the  divisions  among 
the  French,  and  Pershing  will  then  have  the  right,  under  the 
Beauvais  agreement,  of  appealing  to  his  Government.  But 
I  doubt  that  Foch  will  go  such  lengths.  We  shall  see.  I 
expect  that  the  Americans  will  be  all  right  soon.  They  are 
not  the  only  Arniy  to  get  knocks  at  times.  We  have  all 
had  to  buy  our  experience  in  this  war. 

The  reduction  of  the  Boche  artillery  makes  our  losses  less 
serious  now,  and  the  wounds  are  mainly  by  bullet,  leading 
to  quicker  recoveries.  A  new  system  of  treating  gas  gangrene 
has  reduced  recoveries  from  months  to  weeks.  On  the  whole, 
we  are  the  mainstay  of  the  Western  front,  and  Foch  knows  it. 

Reports  reach  me  that  our  Ministers  here  are  only  too 
anxious  to  make  peace.  They  met  at  3  to-day  in  the  belief 
that  they  would  have  President  Wilson's  reply,  but  it  had 
not  come,  and  President  Wilson  has  not  even  consulted  them ! 
Bonar  suggests  the  continuation  of  the  blockade  until  all 
terms  are  carried  out.  The  French  wish  to  occupy  Boche 
territory.     But  all  await  their  master's  voice! 

Later  saw  Mandel  again.  He  felt  sure  that  the  Americans 
meanl  to  accomplish  their  national  unity  by  a  great  feat  of 
arms,  and  would  never  rest  content  while  half  their  new 
Armies  had  ad  come  up,  and  they  had  not  won  a  real 
victory.  They  could  not  afford  to  figure  as  anything  but 
victors,  he  said.  1  gave  him  my  views,  at  his  request,  about 
1  he  Boche  and  our  terms. 

demenoean  had  wished  to  see  me.  Mandel  went  in,  and 
came  bach  to  saj  thai  he  had  found  him  asleep  at  his  desk, 
absolutely  6reitU6,  after  making  />  plus  grand  effort  possibh 
before  the  Supreme  Wta  Council  to-day.  What  should 
Handel  do1  Should  he  wake  him?  I  said,  Certainly  not. 
An  hour's  sleep  for  I  lemenceac  was  of  more  value  than 

mil  ilk,  and,  besides,  I  Could  explain  my  views  about 

V.J..   II.  1*  M 


460   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

the  Italian  front  and  our  effectives  to  Mandel.  This  I  did, 
and  also  told  him  why  I  was  now  inclined  to  believe  that 
Clemenceau  need  not  worry  about  L.  G.'s  wails  about  our 
effectives,  as  I  trusted  that  Auckland  Geddes  and  Macready 
would  pull  us  through  this  time.  Countess  Jeanne  de  S. 
dined  with  me.     A  pleasant  dinner. 

Wednesday,  Oct.  9.  Left  Paris,  8.20  a.m.,  for  Amiens. 
Lady  V.  de  T.'s  boy — a  very  nice  young  fellow — also  there. 
Motored  from  Amiens  to  advanced  G.H.Q.  at  Gouy.  They 
are  in  a  train — two  hours'  run.  Found  Lawrence,  Curly  Birch, 
Hugh  Elles  of  the  Tanks,  Bacon  (U.S.A.),  Fletcher,  Sassoon, 
and  an  A.D.C.  A  pleasant  lunch.  My  first  butter  for  nearly 
six  weeks  !  A  good  talk  with  Lawrence,  who  has  got  a  capital 
railway  carriage  fitted  up  as  the  Chief  of  Staff's  Office,  with 
a  good  desk,  table  for  maps,  and  a  bed  at  end  which  takes 
up  and  down.  The  sides  and  ceiling  of  the  carriage  are  all 
painted  white  inside,  and,  of  course,  the  telephones  are  led 
into  the  carriage. 

They  are  still  very  anxious  about  strengths,  and  have  been 
told  that  they  may  have  to  reduce  17  divisions  by  next  year, 
reducing  our  60  to  43,  of  which  33  only  from  the  U.K.  An 
outrage  !  and  Gerville  Reache  wrote  only  this  morning  that 
we  English  were,  as  always,  the  men  of  the  last  quarter  of 
an  hour  !  English  !  Yes  !  but  that  is  just  what  our  direct- 
ing geniuses  in  this  war  never  have  been  !  We  are  down 
47,000  infantry  to-day,  but  the  depots  and  men  en  route 
reduce  it  to  31,000.  I  told  L.  why  I  thought  things  would 
not  be  so  tragic  as  they  seemed,  and  as  L.  G.  was  making  out 
to  us  and  to  the  French.  But,  of  course,  G.H.Q.  can  only  go 
on  what  the  War  Cabinet  tell  them. 

Haig's  Despatch  is  now  to  come  out,  it  seems,  and  L.  says 
that  D.  H.  has  been  most  moderate  and  reserved,  Mashing 
not  to  embarrass  the  Government ;  but  in  justice  to  the  Army 
he  has  to  tell  the  truth  about  the  strengths  last  spring,  and 
the  extension  of  the  British  front  against  his  advice. 

L.  tells  me  that  he  has  careful  reports  drawn  up  monthly 
upon  the  moral  of  the  Army,  and  says  that  it  is  admirable, 
and  that  even  in  the  worst  time,  last  April,  it  remained  good. 


1918]  VIEWS  AT  OUR  G.H.Q.  461 

He  thinks  all  his  Army  commanders  are  now  very  good,  and 
all  relations  are  excellent.  He  remains  much  pleased  with 
Foch.  To-day  the  attack  continues.  Byng  telephones  to 
siy  that  he  only  won  by  one  wickel  yesterday,  and  would  not 
have  been  able  to  get  on  to-day  had  the  opposition  been 
severe.  A  cavalry  corps,  with  an  infantry  brigade  in 
lorries,  is  making  a  raid  to-day  towards  Le  Catcau.  A  bit 
of  a  gamble,  and  we  shall  Bee  how  it  fares.  L.  admits  thai 
he  threw  in  his  last  two  fresh  divisions  yesterday,  and  will 
only  be  good  for  one  more  considerable  attack  this  year. 
The  French  in  the  north  are  to  attack  with  Degoutte's  Army 
in  a  week's  time,  if  the  weather  serves.  L.  considers  the 
ground  ea.st  of  Cambrai  of  most  importance  to  us.  I  heard 
much  of  the  great  feats  performed  by  our  Armies  while  I 
was  in  Italy,  notably  the  capture  of  the  Hindenburg  line, 
which  was  a  glorious  feat  of  arms,  and  has  shattered  the 
ny's  moral. 

The  Franco-American  attack  f nun  t  he  Me  use  to  the  Suippe 
has  not  attained  the  desired  results.  Much  more  distant 
lives  were  assigned  than  those  reached,  but  the  Ameri- 
cans could  not  cope  with  such  a  big  affair,  and  they  got  into 
difficulties.  A  Renter  tells  us  that  President  Wilson  has  asked 
w  hether  the  Germans  accept  1  lie  terms  of  his  fourteen  points, 
and  HiLr'_rc-t-  that  they  should  evacuate  all  invaded  territory. 
L.  spoke  highly  oi  Milner  in  his  administrative  capacity, and 
said  that  I  hi  <  Sane  had  filled  a  most  difficult  posi  wil  li  great 
tact  and  ability.  The  Boche  was  certainly  not  the  man  of  a 
[told  him  my  views  about  Italy. 

Bear  that  Fred  .Maurice  has  Lr"iie  to  the  Ihtilij  Sews. 
The  ChronirU  lias  l»een  liought  l>\  Dalziel,  and  Donald  has 
left  it 

b  told  me  that  they  were  now  throwing  12,000  ton-  of 
shell-  in  twenty  four  noun  and  that  Winston  deserved  a  good 
mark  for  helping  them  to  do  it.  Our  counter  battery  work  was 
■ .  rrible,andwekept  ops  harassing  fiir  all  daj  and  night 
l;  be  communications.  The  whole  Bystem  was  now  in 
perfei  I  working  order,  and  he  showed  me  numerous  German 
reporti  ihowing  how  Hoehe  troop*  had  Inch  unable  to  carry 


462   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

out  their  orders  owing  to  this  fire.  Everything  up  to  the 
8-inch  inclusive  now  comes  on  with  our  attacks.  We  have 
not  only  captured  one-fourth  of  the  Boche  artilleryin  France, 
but  have  a  report  by  Ludendorff  to  show  that  13  per  cent, 
of  the  German  guns  in  our  front  were  actually  destroyed  in 
one  month  by  our  counter-battery  fire  !  The  Hindenburg 
fine  was  a  masterly  piece  of  engineering,  says  Birch,  but  had 
been  taken  under  cover  of  our  destructive  fire  and  barrages. 
L.  puts  down  the  Boche  losses  at  250,000  in  the  last  two 
months,  prisoners  excluded.     This  is  on  our  front  alone. 

Our  daily  distribution  map  of  to-day's  date  shows  a  total 
of  195  Boche  divisions  on  the  Western  front,  including  8 
Austro -Hungarian,  and  of  these  only  29  are  marked  as  fit 
divisions,  namely,  17  in  the  fine  and  12  in  reserve.  There 
are,  in  all,  142  in  the  line  and  53  in  reserve.  The  heavy  Boche 
losses  are  put  down  to  their  reiterated  and  costly  counter- 
attacks. One  of  the  Boche  graveyards  has  4000  dead,  of 
whom  20  per  cent,  are  artillery.  This  explains  the  reduction 
of  our  artillery  losses.  Our  practice  has  to  be  good,  because 
photographs  expose  the  effects,  and  no  battery  commander 
fails  to  be  found  out  when  he  makes  exaggerated  claims. 
The  adventure  of  the  46th  Division,  which  swam  the  canal 
in  life-belts  brought  from  the  leave  boat,  is  particularly  ex- 
tolled at  G.H.Q.  The  46th's  commander,  Boyd,  failed  to 
get  into  Woolwich,  and  enlisted. 

Elles  of  the  Tanks  is  an  attractive  figure ;  an  obvious 
enthusiast,  with  a  fine  face,  good  features,  and  deep-set  eyes. 

They  all  seem  very  happy  at  G.H.Q. ,  and  L.  extols  his 
own  staff.  Things  are  going  well.  There  is  a  feeling  that 
the  public  at  home  have  not  grasped  the  significance  of 
the  deeds  of  our  Armies  since  Aug.  8,  and  that  people  in 
England  are  laying  undue  stress  on  less  important  matters. 
But  the  real  anxiety  is  still  about  strengths  next  year.  We 
have  just  about  extracted  the  utmost  from  our  Armies  that 
they  can  give.  The  French  divisions  are  much  down,  and 
about  20  per  cent,  of  them  are  not  at  all  good.  The  Ameri- 
cans have  shown  that  they  will  take  time,  much  time,  to  act 
successfully  as  Armies  by  themselves,  and  some  suggest  that 


1918]  A  GENERAL  RETREAT  463 

they  ought  to  fight  all  the  winter  for  training  purpose. 
Happily  the  enemy  is  in  much  worse  ease  than  we  are. 
Motored  back  to  Boulogne  and  slept  there.  Crossed  the 
Channel  and  returned  to  London  on  the  Huh. 

Sat urdaij.  Oct.  L2.  M.  Coleyn  had  just  been  in  London. 
A  friend  of  mine  had  asked  him  whether  the  Germans  would 
accept  President's  Wilson  tonus,  and  C.  had  said  that  no 
Government  in  Germany  oould  do  anything  but  accept 
them.  '  Then  the  military  situation  must  be  even  worse  than 
we  know  I  '  he  was  asked.  '  You  must  form  your  own  con- 
clusions.'  replied  C.  We  seem  rather  short  of  good  negotia- 
tors on  our  side  al  tli«'  Peace  Conference,  but  Crowe,  Mallet, 
and  Tyrrell  are  going  from  the  F.O.  They  joined  the  F.O. 
between  18S.">  and  ls'.nj.  and.  with  Carnoek  and  Bertie,  were 
the  head  and  front  of  the  anti-German  party  all  along,  vexed 
at  our  surrenders  to  Germany,  and  persuaded  that  Germany 
planned  our  ruin.  Between  them  they  made  the  German 
peril  the  central  feature  of  our  foreign  policy. 

The  military  situation  remains  good.  We  are  at  Le 
Catcau  and  approaching  Douai.  Mangin  and  Gouraud  are 
advancing.  The  Bodies  are  evacuating  the  Chemin  des 
Dames.  The  Franco-Americans  have  cleared  the  Southern 
Argonne.  There  is  an  almost  general  Boche  retreat.  We 
Allies  have  captured  nearly  300,000  prisoners  and  4200  guns 
in  this  campaign  between  us,  and  signs  of  Boche  demoralisa- 
tion multiply. 

Politically.  President  Wilson, on  I  krt  .  s.  asked  t  he  <  lermans, 
who  had  applied  to  him  for  an  armistice,  whether  they  spoke 
for  the  people  who  had  been  conducting  the  war;  whether 
they  accepted  the  fourteen  points  of  his  speech  of  last 
Jan.  s  and  only  wished  to  discuss  details  of  them;  and 
whether  they  would  evacuate  all  invaded  territories  as  a 
proof  oi  goodwill. 

day,  Oct.  13.    The  wonderful  new-  reaches  us  that  the 

Germans  have  aooepted  all  Wilson's  conditions  and  have 

ed  for  a  commission  to  arrange  details  of  the  evacuation. 

1  write  an  article  <>n  the  surrender,  and  send  in  two  articles 

on  my  Italian  experience  ,    '1  here  has  been  no  mention  foi 


464   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

a  week  or  more  of  the  Kaiser  or  the  Crown  Prince.  Max  of 
Baden  is  Chancellor,  with  a  quasi-parliamentary  Cabinet 
which  includes  the  Left.  The  reply  was  sent  to  Wilson  after  a 
meeting  of  the  various  kings  and  princes  of  the  Empire. 
Solf  signs  the  reply,  which  is  dated  yesterday.  Coleyn  was 
right,  and  something  more  than  we  know  must  have  happened 
in  Germany.  All  faces  glad  in  London,  and  people  feel  that 
it  is  the  beginning  of  the  end.  The  main  difficulty  will  be 
the  guarantees  and  reparations  which  we  Allies  are  bound  to 
demand.  If  Germany  is  not  to  be  invaded  and  is  to  be 
allowed  to  withdraw  her  troops  and  plant  in  peace,  and 
escape  the  worst  consequences  of  defeat,  then  she  must  pay 
for  these  advantages.  That  is  the  purport  of  my  article. 
The  remembrance  that  Haig  had  put  in  his  two  last  fresh 
divisions  on  the  8th  forbids  me  to  oppose  the  Armistice. 

Wednesday,  Oct.  16.  Parliament  reassembled  yesterday. 
In  the  morning,  yesterday,  there  came  Wilson's  reply  to  Solf. 
It  contains  three  points.  Firstly,  that  Germany  must  cease 
her  inhumane  practices  on  land  and  sea ;  secondly,  that  the 
military  authorities  will  settle  details  and  guarantees  of 
evacuation  and  armistice  ;  and,  thirdly,  that  autocratic  rule 
must  end.    The  door  is  still  open,  unless  the  Boches  close  it. 

Yesterday,  also,  the  British  2nd  Army  under  Plumer,  the 
Belgians,  and  a  French  Army  under  Degoutte,  beat  the  enemy 
east  of  Ypres  and  penetrated  to  Roulers,  Menin,  and  nearly  to 
Courtrai :  12,000  prisoners  and  some  200  guns  taken.  The 
King  of  the  Belgians  in  charge.  A  very  good  day.  The 
Germans  are  leaving  the  Flanders  coast  and  sending  away 
their  heavy  guns.  Saw  various  people,  including  Sir  E. 
Carson  and  Gwynne.  Carson  says  that  no  date  is  fixed  for 
the  Election,  and  nothing  decided.  He  had  read  my  article 
on  the  Peace  correspondence,  and  had  approved  of  it.  I  had 
an  article  in  to-day  on  the  Flanders  fight.  We  seem  to  be 
doing  nothing  politically  until  the  correspondence  ends  one 
way  or  another.  The  last  Wilson  note  is  very  indigestible 
for  the  Boches.  Called  on  Lady  Forrest,  who  gave  me  all  her 
news  of  affairs  in  Australia.  In  touch  with  various  people, 
and  hear  what  news  there  is. 


1918]  SUCCESSES  CONTINUE  465 

I  must  put  down  Major  Paine's  observation  at  Boulogne, 
namely,  thai   those  who  travel  abroad  for  pleasure  in  war 

time  would  travel  to  hell  for  pastime. 

Friday.  Oct.  IS.  Yesterday  our  attack  in  Flanders 
penetrated  to  ( tetend  and  the  gates  of  Bruges.  The  ( Sermans 
in  Lille  evacuated  it  in  the  night  of  the  L6th-17th,  and  our 
men  of  Birdwood's  5th  Army  occupied  the  town  amidst  wild 
rejoicing.  The  King  of  the  Belgians  and  Roger  Keyes  land 
at  Ostend.  There  arc  120,000  people  still  in  Lille,  but  all 
the  males  over  fifteen  have  been  taken  away  by  the  Huns. 
Much  palavering  in  Berlin,  but  no  answer  to  Wilson  yet. 
This  affair  in  Flanders  will  not  make  their  case  more  gaudy. 
The  Bodies  in  retreat  in  most  parts  of  France.  Rawly 
gave  them  another  push  on  a  nine-mile  front  south-east 
of  Le  Gateau  yesterday  and  took  4000  of  them  prisoners. 
The  American  1st  Army  have  had  some  hard  fighting 
east  of  the  Argonne,  and  have  worked  through  to  Grand 
Pre.  The\-  have  been  at  it  since  Sept.  2G,  and,  I  fear,  have 
suffered  much  owing  to  weather,  few  roads,  and  strong  oppo- 
sition. I  read  in  the  Russian  wireless  that  German  troops 
in  Russia  have  hoisted  the  red  flag  and  shot  their  officers. 

Write  an  article  on  the  general  situation.  Later,  I  hear 
that  the  Americans  have  lost  150,000  men  in  the  last  three 
weeks'  lighting. 

Allenby  has  overrun  Syria  and  is  at  Horns,  half-way 
between  Damasous  and  Aleppo. 

Saturday,  Oct.  19.  All  the  news  continues  good.  Lunched 
with  Lady  Paget,  the  Droghedas,  Lord  Ivor  Churchill,  and 
Colonel  Griscom,  at  the  Ritz.  A  merry  party.  Lady  P. 
drove  me  to  the  Dowager  Lady  Londonderry's  house,  and  I 
had  a  good  talk  with  her  of  ouj  last  two  months' experiences. 
day,  Od.  -".  The  27th  and  30th  American  Divisions 
acting  with  Rawly  have  taken  part  during  the  lasl  three 
in  t In <•<•  important  battles  and  many  minor  actions. 

They  have   taken  • <»  prisoners  and  many  guns.      We  a M- 

clearing  up  in  the  north,  and  ill  goes  well.    Went  to  see  Lady 
ford,  who  is  laid  up  with  a   Drained  ankle.   The  Admiral 
and  Edmund  Qo   el  here      Bof  b  intere  I  tag 


466   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

Monday  to  Friday,  Oct.  21-25.  We  keep  on  gaining 
ground  between  the  Scheldt  and  the  Sambre.  Western 
Flanders  is  freed  up  to  the  Dutch  frontier.  The  French 
1st  Army  drive  the  enemy  on  the  Oise  to  eastward  of  the 
river,  and  their  10th  Army  breaks  the  Hindenburg  line. 
The  German  reply  of  Oct.  21  to  America  consists  mainly  of 
denials  of  inhumane  practices,  and  protestations  that  the 
German  Government  has  become  quite  democratic.  It  is 
somewhat  evasive  about  an  armistice,  but  leaves  it  to  the 
President  to  settle  the  details.  Theresa  Lady  Londonderry 
lunched  with  me  at  the  Ritz,  Oct.  21,  and  Mrs.  Ronny 
Greville,  Oct.  22.  Both  ladies  first-rate  company  and 
posted  me  up  in  all  the  London  news  during  my  absence. 
I  dined  with  the  Carnarvons  at  48  Bryanston  Square 
on  the  23rd,  meeting  Lady  Robertson,  the  Arthur  Port- 
mans,  General  and  Mrs.  Hutchison,  Sir  Marshall  Hall,  and 
some  others.  Hutch,  told  me  that  we  could  keep  up 
our  numbers  if  the  War  Cabinet  liked.  He  had  been 
ordered  to  recall  33,000  A  men  (miners)  from  France,  and  had 
refused.  The  reason  why  we  were  short  of  coal,  he  declared, 
was  that  the  80  per  cent,  excess-profits'  tax  prevented  mine 
managers  from  producing  more  than  enough  to  pay  their 
dividends  or  minimum  rents.  They  employed  their  men  in 
opening  up  pits  and  getting  ready  to  exploit  them  later. 
If  mines  were  allowed  to  produce  more  coal  untaxed,  they 
could  do  it,  but  it  was  not  reasonable  to  expect  them  to 
exhaust  their  capital,  i.e.  their  best  seams,  when  80  per  cent, 
of  their  profits  would  go  to  the  Government.  On  Oct.  19, 
twenty -four  days  after  the  launching  of  the  Salonika  offen- 
sive, Allied  troops  reach  the  Danube  at  Widdin.  On  Oct.  22 
I  wrote  in  the  Post  my  ideas  of  what  we  need  for  security 
at  the  Peace.  Haig's  Despatch  of  July  20  comes  out  this 
week,  apparently  bowdlerised,  but  the  Censor  forbids  me  to 
suggest  it.  It  is  a  great  story  and  does  justice  to  the  Army. 
In  the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  Oct.  24,  there  comes  out  an 
uncompromising  reply  from  President  Wilson  to  Germany, 
the  operative  part  of  which  is  that  he  will  suggest  an 
armistice  to  the  Allies.     But  he  tells  the  Germans,  bluntly, 


1918]  REAL  REASONS  FOR  VICTORY  467 

that  they  cannot  be  trusted,  and  that  he  will  not  deal  with 
military  autocrats,  and  will  insist  on  Buoh  guarantees  before 
an  armistice  i<  granted  that  the  Germans  will  be  unable 
to  continue  the  war.  It  is  an  extremely  harsh  document, 
and  no  nation  ha-  ever  been  addressed  in  Buch  severe  terms 
since  the  time  of  Napnlcon.  However,  the  Bodies  can  now 
take  it  or  leave  it.  after  our  naval  and  military  people  have 
fixed  the  character  of  the  guarantees.  Opinion  much  divided 
about  what  the  Roche  will  do. 

On  Friday,  25th,  1  lunched  with  Sir  \V.  and  Lady  Robertson 
;it  York  House,  and  he  and  1  had  a  good  chat.  He  says 
that  he  has  practically  no  troops  for  home  defence  now,  and 
that  he  has  fully  represented  the  situation,  and  the  War  Cabi- 
net accepl  the  responsibility  in  the  belief  that  the  enemy 
has  no  troops  to  spare.  The  Navy  continue  to  declare. 
officially,  that  they  cannot  guarantee  to  stop  a  landing. 
1  told  R.  of  my  experiences  abroad.  We  had  both  heard 
the  report  that  Haig,  who  has  just  been  over  here,  had  taken 
the  line  at  the  War  ( Sabinel  that  the  Government  should  say 
what  they  could  do  for  our  Armies,  and  that  if  they  could  not, 
or  would  not.  do  much,  they  should  stop  the  war.  We 
discussed  the  happy  change  in  the  fortune  of  war.  and 
rase.  The  real  cause  of  the  Allied  recovery  was 
rival  ol  over  -. 000, 000  fresh  Allied  troops  in  France 
between  Iftaroh  and  October.  Would  the  public  and  would 
y  ever  understand  theseelementaryfacts.  we  wondered  ? 
R.  and  I  agreed  thai  the  best  thine  about  the  war  in 
I  iliat   the   War  Cabinet    had   now  practically 

nothing  to  do  with  it.     The  War  Cabinet  even  complain 

that  the}  are  not  told  in  advance  of  the  great  battles.  Why 
Should  they  DC  I      They  only  run  about  and  prattle. 

vrdayto  Monday,  Oct.  -{>  -v  Down  to  I'olesden  Lacey 
in  the  afternoon  and  found  Mr.  Cravath,  Sir  Ronald  and 
Lady  Graham,  Lad}  Ancestor,  Sir  Seymour  Fortescue,  Lord 
Cochrane,  Jack  FitzGerald  (the  Knight  0!  Kerry),  Soma 
K«|.|.<  1.  Si  Sedwortfa  and  Lady  Bleux,  Mr.  Mamringhani, 
and  young  Bermonof  the  Coldstreams.  Lovely  weather : 
1  oil  St.  Luke'i   summer,  and  the  autumn  tints  gorgeous. 


468    FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

A  cheerful  party.  I  walked  on  Sunday  morning  with 
Cravath,  and  we  had  a  good  talk  over  affairs  in  France  and 
America.  He  tells  me  that  the  President  has  no  intention 
of  interfering  in  Russian  domestic  affairs,  and  was  only 
induced  to  intervene  in  Siberia  in  order  to  save  the  Czech 
forces.  This  is  serious,  for  it  means  a  Bolshevist  Russia  open 
to  German  intrigue  and  exploitation  after  the  war,  and  no 
real  balance  of  power.  As,  moreover,  we  are  helping  to  break 
up  Austria,  where  a  regular  rot  is  setting  in,  it  is  obvious 
that  we  Western  Allies  must  make  hard  terms,  and  especially 
must  have  a  strong  frontier  on  the  Alps  and  the  Rhine,  as 
Rome  had  of  old.  I  told  Cravath  that  Mr.  George  Creel's 
account  of  German-Bolshevist  intrigues  appeared  to  me  a 
little  dubious,  and  gave  my  reason  for  suspecting  some  of  the 
documents.  Creel  is  head  of  the  Information  and  Propa- 
ganda Service  in  America.  Cravath  apparently  believes 
all  the  story,  but  Ronald  Graham  admitted  that  the  F.O. 
did  not,  and  the  Americans  seem  displeased  because  we  do 
not  swallow  the  story. 

Cravath  has  heard  much  criticism  of  the  American  Staff 
arrangements  in  the  Argonne  battle,  and  I  told  him  all  that 
I  knew  about  it.  He  tells  us  that  the  American  Treasury, 
under  McAdoo,  is  manned  by  Wall  Street  men  who  have 
given  proofs  of  competence,  and  that  some  of  the  chief  men 
are  his  partners  and  friends.  He  spoke  highly  of  Davis,  the 
new  Ambassador  in  London,  but  thinks  that  as  it  costs 
£8000  a  year  to  live  here,  he  may  not  stay  long.  Cravath 
wants  business  men  to  run  the  great  business  machine  on  the 
American  lines  of  communication  in  France,  but  says  that 
the  American  soldiers  will  not  have  them.  He  does  not 
think  that  American  opinion  is  bothering  much  about 
Ireland.  During  his  recent  trip  to  the  U.S.  he  found  America 
united  for  pressing  on  the  war.  He  was  interesting  about 
Colonel  House,  who  is  now  back  again  in  Paris,  and  thinks 
his  position  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  he  does  not  seek  to 
exploit  his  great  influence  with  the  President.  We  discussed 
numbers  and  operations,  and  I  gave  him  my  views  of  the  argu- 
ments which  Bonar  Law  had  given  him  about  our  strengths. 


1918]  ROUT  OF  THE  AUSTRIANS  469 

Graham  told  mo  thai  the  P.O.  had  been  compelled  by 
events  to  adopt  its  present  attitude  towards  Austria,  and 
1  am  not  siuv  whether  he  likes  it  more  than  1  do.  Lady 
Mens  in  good  form  in  spite  of  a  shocking  cold,  she  im- 
pressed upon  me  at  dinner  cue  night  the  efficacy  of  prayer. 
The  young  men  of  the  party  very  pleasant,  and  Miss  Soma 
had  a  great  time. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  29.  All  the  Allied  civil  and  Military  Chiefs 
air  at  Paris  t>>  settle  terms  of  peaee  and  guarantees  to  be 
demanded  before  an  armistice  is  given.  All  goes  well  in 
the  field.  LudendortT  has  resigned.  Allenby  is  in  Aleppo. 
He  has  covered  300  miles  in  47  days,  and  has  taken  75,000 
prisoners  and  340  guns.  In  Serbia  things  continue  to 
go  well.  \Y<-  gain  ground  slowly  along  the  line  in  France, 
but  the  enemy  resists  strenuously,  from  political  motives. 
Weather  continues  fair  and  mild,  but  it  can  scarcely  remain 
BO  much  longer.  Lunched  with  E.,  who  sees  much  of  the 
_ian  Press  confraternity,  who  all  live  near  each  other 
in  the  Leatherhead  district.  She  has  defended  me,  she 
says,  very  warmly  in  this  quarter.  I  expect  that  I 
need  it. 

In  the  evening  went  to  the  1900  Club  to  hear  Gwynne 
give  an  address  on  '  The  Future  of  Parties.'  Interesting, 
and  a  good  debate  The  Tory  M.P.s  present  all  spoke 
"1  i-nly. 

Wednesday,  Oct.  30.  In  the  evening  dined  with  Mrs. 
Burton  at  4o  Hertford  Street ;  Lady  Sarah,  Lady  Bingham, 
Lady  de  TralTord,  Lord  Lurgan,  Sir  Fritz  Ponsonby.  and 
Murray-Graham.  Bfuch  talk  of  peace  terms,  of  Turkey 
giving  in.  and  <>f  the  want  of  hotels  for  officers  on  leave. 

Thursday,  Oct.  31.  Greal  news  to-day.  The  Italians,  who 
have  been  attacking  on  their  whole  front  since  Oct.  25, 
have  thrown  tin-  enemy  back  and  taken  40,000  prisoners. 
An  itt.nl;  by  Cavan's  Army,  and  especially  by  the  British 
ink  Army  Corps  <>f  tin-  7th  and  -'3rd  Divisions,  under 
Babington,  wst  \  ery  successful,  and  served  as  a  spearhead. 
Tin-  Austriam  have  now  asked  for  an  armistice,  and  have 
offered  t"  evacuate   Italy.    There  <ome.s,  also,  the  even 


470   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

greater  news  of  the  surrender  of  Turkey .  who  has  agreed 
to  our  terms,  which  include  the  surrender  of  the  Darda- 
nelles and  the  Bosphorus.  A  historic  event  of  great 
importance.  The  military  failure  of  Germany  has  brought 
all  her  coalition  down  about  her  ears.  Lunched  with  Mrs. 
Astor,  Lady  Juliet  Duff,  Mrs.  Bridges,  Wolkoff,  and  General 
Brancker.  Juliet  vexed  with  me  for  my  remarks  about  the 
I.A.F.  Brancker  admits  that  Trenchard  was  not  in  favour 
of  the  great,  new,  long-range  bombing  programme.  The 
latter  will  be  late,  as  our  latest  great  type  has  developed 
teething  trouble,  and  so  we  have  not  '  done-in '  Berlin  yet. 
We  had  a  great  day  in  France  yesterday,  downing  69  Boche 
planes.  All  very  pleased  with  the  great  news  about  Austria 
and  Turkey.  Various  accounts  of  our  terms  for  Germany, 
but  nothing  definite.  I  find  that  General  Pershing  is  the 
subject  of  much  unjust  and  ignorant  criticism  just  now,  and 
I  have  constantly  to  take  up  the  cudgels  for  him. 

Friday,  Nov.  1.  The  Austrian  retreat  has  degenerated 
into  a  rout.  Austria  and  Hungary,  as  well  as  other  parts 
of  the  late  dual  Monarchy,  are  in  revolution,  and  the  whole 
State  has  collapsed.  Difficult  to  know  with  whom  or  with 
what  to  treat.  Allenby  gets  a  G.C.B.  and  a  nice  telegram 
from  the  King,  which  he  richly  deserves.  The  terms  of  the 
Armistice  with  Turkey  are  announced.  They  are  quite 
satisfactory,  and  include  all  necessary  safeguards.  The 
Turkish  Army  to  be  demobilised,  Batoum  and  Baku  to  be 
occupied  by  us,  all  Germans  and  Austrians  to  be  deported, 
Turkey  to  cease  all  relations  with  the  Central  Powers,  and 
of  course  the  Straits  forts  to  be  occupied  by  us,  and  all  war 
vessels  to  be  surrendered.  Hostilities  to  cease  at  noon,  local 
time,  yesterday. 

Tribunal  in  afternoon.  One  claimant  for  exemption  was 
at  Handley-Page's  place,  and  told  us  that  the  first  big  Berlin 
bomber  failed,  but  that  six  were  due  this  month,  and  50  were 
on  order  :  two  or  three  were  already  successes.  We  allowed 
his  exemption,  with  a  warning  to  hurry  up. 

Saturday  to  Monday,  Nov.  2-4.  Wrote  an  article  for 
Monday   and   went   down   to   Coombe   in   the   afternoon. 


1918]  ■         CHETWODE  OX  PALESTINE  471 

Beastly  weather.  Besides  the  host  and  hostess,  there  came 
down  Sir  Philip  and  Lady  I'hetwode,  Mr.  I'ravath,  Captain 
Lyall,  Professor  Sir  Dennison  Ross,  General  Sir  W.  and 
Lady  Pulteney,  Lord  and  Lady  Esme  Gordon-Lennox, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  BicKenna,  Lady  Bingham,  Mrs.  Burton,  Lady 
Drogheda.  and  a  few  more.  C'hetwode  verj'  interesting 
about  Palestine.  He  says  that  Colonel  Lawrence,  the  British 
Museum  man  who  lias  been  with  the  Arabs  oil  the  time,  is  a 
romantic  character.  He  looks  quite  a  youth.  He  has  been 
made  an  Emir  by  the  Arabs,  who  have  great  faith  in  him  and 
will  follow  him  anywhere.  He  has  come  back  to  see  about 
the  Arab  frontiers.  It  seems  that  the  Mark  Sykes-Picot 
arrangement  will  not  wash.  It  gives  to  the  French  something 
that  we  promised  to  the  Arabs.  So  Lawrence  refuses  honours 
offered  to  him.  Our  frontier  is  apparently  to  run  east  and 
west  through  Haifa.  The  French  get  Syria.  The  Arabs 
all  cast  of  the  Jordan  and  up  to  Aleppo.  The  trace  of 
the  frontiers  is  difficult  for  the  Arabs  to  understand. 
Allenby  very  short  with  Picot.  The  latter  told  him  on 
arriving  in  Jerusalem  thai  he  was  going  to  establish  a  civil 
administration,  police,  etc.  Allenby  replied  that  he  would 
do  nothing  of  the  sort,  as  there  was  martial  law  and  the 
British  were  in  charge. 

Chetwode  told  us  much  of  the  campaign,  and  was  very 
interesting.  The  Army  is  all  Indianised  now,  and  the 
younger  Indian  troops  have  done  well;  even  the  young 
native  officers  showing  initiative.  The  new  Indian 
troope  arc  being  accustomed  to  walk  behind  real  shell 
barrages  on  the  practice  grounds     ('.  thinks   Allenby  as 

good  ;i  diplomat   a--  general.      He  told  us  some  stories  of  the 

correspondence  between  the  King  of  the  Hedjaz  and  Allenby, 
In  one  letter  the  King  told  A.  that  he  was  w  longing  to  kiss 
his  intelligent  forehead.'  The  Arab  bureau  replies  in  similar 
high  falutinl  It  1-  true  that  the  King  gets  £250,000  a 
month  in  gold.  Tin  jailors  who  took  it  over  found  the  Arabs 
glad  to  pari  with  one  pound  for  ten  shillings'  worth  of  silver, 
whi<h  i<  more  useful  currency,  and  the  sailors  did  some  good 
business  till  the  prael  ice  u.i-  found  out .      We  have  seven  in- 


472   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

fantry  and  four  mounted  divisions  in  the  Army.  C.  thinks 
that  two  mounted  and  one  or  two  infantry  divisions  can  hold 
the  country  now,  but  what  will  be  done  with  the  rest  no  one 
knows  yet.  The  mounted  troops,  R.A.F.,  and  armoured 
motor  cars  have  been  extremely  efficient.  The  planes  have 
played  the  devil  with  the  Turks  in  retreat,  and  have  quite 
broken  them  up.  Our  Mohammedan  troops  have  fought 
well  against  the  Turks,  though  the  latter  have  often  come  at 
night  to  chant  the  Koran  round  the  camps.  A  few  deserters 
from  our  natives,  but  not  many,  and  mainly  because  the 
deserters  thought  that  the  Pathan  country  was  just  across 
the  Jordan.  The  Turks  desert  freely.  They  have  used  no 
gas  against  us,  so  we  have  not  fired  our  gas  shells.  Turkish 
warfare  is  gentlemanly  compared  with  the  Boche. 

Several  talks  with  Cravath.  He  thinks  that  if  the  Presi- 
dent comes  to  Europe  he  will  lose  the  power  of  talking  to 
the  people  over  the  heads  of  the  statesmen,  and  that  it  will 
be  a  disadvantage  for  him.  Cravath  himself  thinks  that  we 
all  ought  to  share  in  putting  Russia  right,  but  doubts  that 
Wilson  will.  He  doubts  that  the  President  will  back  either 
us  or  the  French  in  measures  of  rigour  against  the  Boche. 
He  says  that  the  Americans  know  the  quarter  in  London 
whence  emanate  the  criticisms  of  the  President  and  of 
Pershing.     So  do  I. 

Lord  Esme  still  much  crippled  by  his  shell  wound.  Lady 
Esme's  brother,  Reggie  Fellowes,  back  from  Germany  where 
he  has  been  in  durance  since  the  war  began.  He  thinks  that 
the  Boches  will  make  peace.  A  story  that  Clemenceau  said  of 
the  President,  '  II  m'agace  avec  ses  quatorze  commandements 
quand  le  bon  Dieu  n'avait  que  dix  '  !  I  also  liked  the  story 
of  the  Syrian  who  wrote  to  Allenby,  '  Your  petitioner  is  a 
bubble  on  the  sands  of  time  ;  the  bubble  is  about  to  burst, 
leaving  one  wife  and  one  small  child  totally  unprovided  for  '  ! 

Returned  with  Cravath,  Monday  morning.  He  is  at  Sun- 
derland House.  Good  news  from  the  fronts.  The  Italians 
have  taken  100,000  prisoners  and  3000  guns.  They  have 
occupied  Trent,  Udine,  and  Trieste.  The  Austrian  retreat 
is  a  sauve  qui  jjeut.     What  a  transformation  in  a   fort- 


1918]  AXOTHER  VICTORY  473 

night  and  how  different  from  the  situation  when  I  was 
in  Italy  !  I  assume  that  disintegration  had  set  in  from 
the  rear,  and  that  all  the  various  Austrian  races  are  only 
thinking  of  trekking  for  home.1  In  France  Gouraud  and 
Pershing  have  got  on  well  and  made  a  12-mile  advance.  We 
are  on  all  the  Scheldt  line,  and  to-day  the  whole  front  east 
of  the  Scheldt  is  attacking.  We  are  in  Valenciennes.  No 
news  yet  of  our  occupation  of  the  Straits.  Versailles  very 
silent.  Cravath  told  me  about  the  trouble  regarding  the 
American  divisions  some  time  back,  referred  to  in  a  speech 
by  Major  Aetor  last  Saturday.  Ten  American  divisions 
came  to  our  front.  Foch  took  away  five,  as  they  were  not 
needed.  Haig  made  his  plans  for  his  operations,  counting 
on  the  remaining  five.  But  so  did  Pershing,  and,  after 
consultation  with  Haig,  took  away  three.  Some  silly 
people  have  been  howling  about  Pershing  ever  since.  I 
do  not  know  why  they  should. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  5.  Yesterday  our  1st,  3rd,  and  4th  Armies 
attacked  in  the  Scheldt -Sambre  gap  with  about  13  divisions 
in  front  line,  penetrated  several  miles  into  the  German 
positions  and  the  Mormal  Forest,  and  took  14,000  prisoners 
and  over  200  guns.  A  very  fine  stroke.  Landrecies  was 
captured,  and  Le  Quesnoy,  a  walled  town,  surrounded,  and 
all  the  Boche  garrison  captured.  Debeney  attacked  on  our 
right,  made  progress,  and  took  3000  prisoners.  On  the  rest 
of  the  French  front  there  is  evidence  of  a  German  retreat. 
The  same  on  the  American  front,  where,  in  three  days,  the 
Yankees  have  got  on  12  miles  on  an  18-mile  front,  and  are 
across  the  Hense. 

L.  G.  announces  the  conditions  of  the  Austrian  Armistice 

in  the  11.  of  C.     We  are  to  occupy  certain  strategic  points, 

to  have  the  OSS  of  all  railways,  etc.,  and  only  20  divisions  of 

ips  arc  to  be  kepi  under  arms.    The  Austrians  agree  to 

tenders  l"t  oi  warships,  including  3  battleships,  15  sub- 

of  their  own,  and  all  the   Boche  U-boatn.  in  their 

1  Thin  ira  Wt  learned  later  that  troopt  had  refused  to  obej 

on  Oct.  21,  and  thai  Pole*,  Jugo -Slays,  and  Gsechi  had  all  demanded  to 

be  sent  homo. 


474   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

ports.  Several  other  conditions — all  pretty  good.  L.  G. 
announces  that  Foch  is  to  have  control  of  strategy  on  all 
fronts  during  the  last  stage  of  the  war.  He  also  says  that 
the  Allies  are  agreed  on  armistice  conditions  for  Germany, 
have  sent  them  to  President  Wilson,  and  have  informed  him 
that  the  Boches  will  have  to  come  to  Foch's  H.Q.  for  them. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  the  Boches  wall  accept  them, 
but  as  the  conditions  are  not  known,  no  one  among  the  public 
can  say  for  certain.  Met  the  Duke  of  Connaught  at  Olive's 
to-day  at  tea.  He  says  that  Lionel  Earle  goes  to  Paris 
to-morrow  to  make  preparations  for  a  conference,  which  we 
assume  to  mean  the  Peace  Conference,  as  Ministers  are  all 
now  back  from  the  late  meeting.  Evidently  it  must  be 
thought  that  the  Boches  will  give  in. 

There  is  certainly  a  general  expectation  of  peace.  The 
surrender  of  Germany's  three  Allies  is  a  terrible  blow  to  the 
Boche.  Their  own  military  defeat  and  the  improbability 
of  any  advantageous  change  of  fortune  depress  them  to  the 
depths,  while  internally  all  is  disquiet,  suffering,  and  distress. 
They  have  lost  the  war,  and  the  people  know  it  at  last.  They 
are  cowed  by  the  severity  and  harshness  of  President  Wilson's 
language,  and  recognise  themselves  to  be  the  pariahs  of  the 
world.  All  the  Left  parties  are  against  the  ruling  caste. 
This  caste  regards  surrender  with  bitter  and  burning  anger, 
but  can  see  no  way  out,  and  only  unconditional  surrender  in 
prospect  if  the  war  goes  on.  The  outlook  is  very  black  for 
them,  and  they  can  judge  from  the  Armistice  conditions  given 
to  their  Allies  how  harsh  their  own  will  be.  They  have  an 
enormous  weight  of  debt  to  bear  in  future,  with  food  and 
raw  materials  at  their  lowest  ebb,  and  the  chance  of  having 
to  find  a  thousand  millions  sterling  to  repay  damages  done 
in  France,  and  at  least  half  as  much  to  pay  to  Belgium. 

In  the  Allied  countries  the  brutalities  of  Germany  through- 
out the  war  have  destroyed  all  sense  of  compassion  for  the 
beaten  enemy.  The  vile  and  unchivalrous  manner  in  which 
Germany  has  fought  has  roused  a  consuming  fire  of  hatred 
which  seeks  revenge  and  reparations.  The  harsher  the  terms 
the  better  will  public  opinion  be  pleased.     Sheridan's  plea 


1918]  WE   VICT  IS!  475 

that  the  vanquished  should  only  be  left  their  eyes  to  weep 
with  corresponds  with  the  fierce  burning  hate  aroused  in 
England,  Fiance,  and  Belgium.  The  Americans  are  almost 
as  fierce,  and  utterly  against  compromise  until  the  German 
power  is  entirely  extinguished  and  autocracy  overthrown. 
We  have  most  of  us  lost  by  eustom  the  capacity  for  surprise, 
joy,  or  sorrow.  A  dead,  numb,  implacable  feeling  of  seeing 
the  thing  through  tills  all  minds.  There  has  been  not 
a  flag  raised,  nor  a  bell  rung,  for  all  the  victories  of  these 
past  four  months,  unequalled  though  they  be.  The  feeling 
is  so  strong  that  most  people  have  shut  it  up  in  their 
own  hearts  and  give  little  open  expression  to  it.  The 
thousands  of  casualties  which  fill  the  papers  daily  shut 
out  all  pity  for  the  vile  enemy.  The  murders,  lootings, 
crimes  of  every  sort,  the  memory  of  the  Lusitania,  of 
Nurse  Cavell  and  Captain  Fryatt,  of  the  poison  gas  and  the 
ill  treatment  of  our  prisoners,  are  never  out  of  our  minds, 
and  a  terrible  retribution  is  in  store  for  Germany.  The 
cold  and  terrible  implacability  of  the  English  is  the  dead- 
liest hate  of  all.  This  is  the  frame  of  mind  in  which  we 
approach  the  end  of  this  bloody,  prolonged,  and  horrible 
war.     Vcb  victis  ! 

Inesday,  Nov.  6.  The  text  of  the  Austrian  Armistice 
conditions  shows  that  it  is  nearly  unconditional  surrender. 
I  am  particularly  pleased  that  the  enemy  has  to  evacuate 
the  Tyrol  up  to  the  Brenner  Pass.  Thereby  Italy  secures 
her  real  military  frontier  in  the  Alps,  and  I  hope  may  be 
allowed  to  maintain  it  at  the  Peace.  She  also  gets  Istria 
and  Tola,  ai  least  pro  fern.  All  the  naval  and  military 
conditions  are  effective,  if  executed.  Will  they  be?  We 
shall 

A  despatch  from  President  Wilson  to  Germany,  via  the 
Government,  dated  yesterday,  refers  to  his  note  of 
Oct.  ~'i-  and  Bays  that  lie  has  received  a  memorandum 
from  the  Allies,  who  declare  their  readiness  to  make  peace 
with  Germany  on  the  terms  of  peace  Laid  down  in  the 
President's  Addre  i  to  Congress  of  Jan.  8,  L918,  and  the 
principles  of  settlement  enunciated  in  Ins  subsequent  ad- 

\oj..  ii.  2  i 


476   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

dresses.  But  they  make  two  qualifications  :  firstly,  that  the 
President's  reference  to  the  Freedom  of  the  Seas  is  open  to 
various  interpretations,  some  of  which  they  could  not  accept, 
and  therefore  they  reserve  to  themselves  complete  freedom 
on  the  subject  when  they  enter  the  Peace  Conference ;  and, 
secondly,  that  compensation  must  be  made  by  Germany  for 
all  damage  done  to  the  civilian  population  of  the  Allies  and 
their  property  by  the  aggression  of  Germany  by  land,  by 
sea,  or  from  the  air.  The  President  expresses  his  agree- 
ment with  this  latter  point.  He  further  notifies  that 
Foch  is  authorised  by  the  U.S.  and  Allied  Governments  to 
receive  properly  accredited  representatives  of  the  German 
Government,  and  to  communicate  to  them  the  terms  of 
the  Armistice. 

A  rumour  in  London  that  the  German  delegation  has  left 
Berlin  for  the  Western  front.  Dined  with  Lord  and  Lady 
Wolverton  at  36  St.  James's  Place — a  pleasant  house  done 
up  in  Louis  xiv.  style  and  extremely  comfortable.  Also  a 
good  cook.  Found  Sir  Fritz  Ponsonby,  Cyril  Hankey,  Lord 
and  Lady  Ancaster,  and  Bobbie  Ward.  An  interesting 
dinner.  Much  talk  of  all  the  great  and  bewildering  events 
happening  round  us. 

Thursday,  Nov.  7.  The  following  letter  from  Major- 
General  Sir  Charles  Townshend  reached  me  this  morning  : 

In  the  Train  between  Paris  and  Rome, 
9.30  a.m.,  28iA  October  1918. 

My  dear  Repington, — I  reach  Paris  at  11  a.m.,  and  I  am 
going  to  see  General  Foch  if  I  can.  I  know  him  well,  you  know. 
I  reach  London  Friday  or  Saturday,  and  I  shall  be  so  glad  to  see 
you  again.  What  do  you  think  of  my  coup  in  advising  the  Turks 
to  make  peace  ?  I  initiated  the  whole  thing  with  Izzat  Pasha, 
the  Grand  Vizier,  telling  him  that  Turkey  was  done,  that  if  any 
terms  could  be  got,  it  would  be  now ;  to-morrow  might  be  too  late. 
The  Turks  had  treated  me  so  honourably  that  I  would  be  willing 
to  do  all  I  could,  but  my  absolute  freedom  and  the  freedom  of 
British  and  Indian  prisoners  was  my  condition.  I  left  the 
Sublime  Porte  that  afternoon,  17th  October,  a  free  man,  and  left 


1918]        A  LETTER  FROM  TOWNSHEND  477 

at  daylight  next  morning  in  a  steamer  yacht  for  Smyrna  secretly, 
as  they  did  not  want  the  Germans  to  find  out.  I  told  Izzat  he 
would  have  to  agree  to  opening  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Bos- 
phorus,  and  he  said  he  was  prepared  to  do  this.  I  reached 
Smyrna  by  special  train.  L9tfa  October,  and  found  all  Smyrna 
lining  the  streets  and  cheering  for  '  Peace  '  as  I  drove  through 
the  streets  with  the  Govu-nor  in  his  motor  car.  There  was  no 
secrecy  whatever, and  my  departure,  I  find,  was  announced  in  all 
the  Turkish  papers  in  Constantinople  the  next  day  !  Imagine 
BernstorfFs  face !  I  reached  Mitylene  at  3  a.m. on  20th  October  '18 
in  a  tug,  passing  through  the  Turkish  minefield  at  night ;  such  was 
my  impatience  to  be  under  the  British  flag  again,  and  how  the 
crews  of  the  destro}'er  and  the  monitor  at  Mitylene  cheered  me  as 
I  went  on  board  the  destroyer  Forester.  I  sent  a  long  wire  to  the 
F.O.  from  Mitylene,  and  then  proceeded  to  the  fleet  at  Mudros, 
reaching  there  at  3  r.M.,  20th  October,  and  was  a  guest  of  the 
Admiral.  I  took  a  Turkish  naval  officer  with  me,  and  he  was 
sent  back  at  once  to  Smyrna  to  fetch  the  Turkish  delegates. 
So  you  see,  my  dear  Repington,  I  have  done  what  I  was  sent  to 
Mesopotamia  with  my  poignce  (V homines  to  do,  but  by  diplomacy — 
at  the  same  time  dealing  a  heavy  blow  to  Germany  and  Austria, 
namely,  the  loss  of  Turkey  and  the  Dardanelles-Gallipoli  and 
Bosphoros  Straits,  while  we  automatically  capture  the  20,000 
Germans  at  Constantinople  and  Tchatalgah,  just  as  Junot,  with 
his  14,000  men,  was  bottled  at  Lisbon  in  1809.  To  bottle  the 
Black  Sea  Fleet  in  Sebastopol  is  now  too  easy — they  will  never 
fight  a  battle  in  the  open.  This  stroke  also  frees  our  armies  in 
Syria  and  Irak  from  a  secondary  theatre  to  add  to  the  masse 
principale  in  the  Principal  Theatre.  The  Turkish  Government 
sent  me  word  by  Raouf  Bey  at  the  Conference  that  they  hoped 
greatly  I  would  come  back  as  Ambassador,  but  of  course  that, 
I  told  them,  is  not  my  pigeon  ;  some  F.O.  diplomatist  will  come. 
Izzat  Pasha  also  said  he  hoped  I  would  return  as  '  You  know  us, 
and  we  have  absolute  confidence  in  you.'  But  all  I  ask  is  to  be 
given  a  chance  on  the  Western  or  other  front  to  regain  mj7  cruel 
I'  I—  oi  two  yean*  service  due  to  no  fault  of  mine,  C<>d  knows,  and 

all  the  world  knows,  during  which  time  all  my  juniors  have  been 

promoted  Lieut.'Qenera]  over  my  head,  and  I  feel  this  \<vy 
bitterly.    As  soon  ai  I  reach  London  I  will  let  you  know,  and  you 

dine  with  m<-.      I  will  \»'  so  glad,  old  chap,  to  shako  your 
hand  again.      1  am  very  fit.      I  told  you,  I  think,  of  my  famous 


478   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

swim  across  the  Halka  Channel  in  forty  minutes  in  a  rough  sea — 
1 J  miles,  so  I  'm  all  right ! — Always  yours, 

Chables  Townshend. 

Wrote  about  Townshend,  and  Allenby's  Despatch,  which 
is  out  to-day,  bringing  out  how  well  the  latter  and  his  Staff 
had  done  after  the  pick  of  his  troops  had  been  taken  away 
to  France,  and  how  finely  India  had  seen  him  through.  In 
the  afternoon  went  to  the  F.O.  Tyrrell,  Eyre  Crowe,  and 
Mallet  are  to  attend  the  Peace  Conference — a  good  team. 

The  rumour  spread  over  the  town  to-day  that  the  Armis- 
tice was  signed.  Ernest  Cunard  had  it  from  what  he  termed 
a  German  house  in  the  city,  and  Reuter  also  published  it. 
Not  true,  and  it  was  materially  impossible.  By  4  p.m.  no 
Boches  had  reached  Foch's  H.Q.  I  am  amused  to  hear  that 
the  F.O.  has  not  been  made  officially  cognisant  of  the  Armis- 
tice terms.  It  is  thought  by  wise  folk  that  the  Republican 
majority  in  the  Congressional  Elections  will  make  our 
Ministers  statesmen,  because  they  will  no  longer  fear  Wilson. 
The  said  wise  folk  regard  the  Republican  majority  as  a 
godsend. 

I  hear  from  Rocke  at  Rome  that  my  Italian  articles  have 
been  quoted  at  full  length  in  all  the  Italian  papers,  and 
have  done  much  good.  Rocke 's  wife  has  been  very  ill. 
Dined  with  Lady  Sarah ;  Sir  Godfrey  and  Lady  Paine, 
Lady  de  Ramsey  and  her  son  Mr.  Fellowes  (just  back  from 
four  years'  internment  in  Germany),  General  Brancker, 
Mrs.  Astor,  Ernest  Cunard,  and  Mrs.  Greville.  A  pleasant 
evening.  Paine  says  that  if  the  R.A.F.  only  get  five 
millions  a  year  voted  at  the  Peace,  they  will  only  be  able  to 
keep  up  one  squadron !  I  think  that  he  would  like  fifty 
millions.  I  told  him  that  the  only  chance  of  retaining  the 
R.A.F.  was  to  commercialise  it.  Fellowes  interesting  on  his 
experiences.  He  is  confident  that  the  Germans  will  give  in. 
Lately  the  Germans  stole  half  the  food  sent  him,  but  he  could 
not  grudge  it  as  they  were  so  hard  set.  He  thinks  that  the 
influenza  acting  on  the  German  constitutions  undermined 
by  bad  food  has  had  a  marked  effect  in  bringing  about  the 


1918]       POCH  RECEIVES  THE  GERMANS         479 

demand  for  peace.  Lady  de  Ramsey  told  me  that  the 
Germans  had  never  delivered  her  telegrams  to  Lord  de  R., 
who  was  in  Germany  in  1914,  asking  him  to  return  at  once, 
so  he  and  his  son  had  been  caught.  For  eighteen  months 
the  Germans  had  detained  Lord  de  R.,  who  is  old  and  blind, 
and  had  deprived  him  of  his  servant. 

Friday,  Nov.  8.  Last  night  Erzberger  and  the  other 
German  delegates  crossed  the  French  lines,  and  then  received 
the  Armistice  conditions  from  Foch  this  morning.  They  are 
allowed  72  hours  in  which  to  give  their  answer,  and  have 
despatched  a  courier  with  the  terms  to  Spa,  which  is  ap- 
parently the  German  G.H.Q.  now.  Foch  has  refused  the 
German  request  to  suspend  hostilities  at  once.  The  72  hours 
expire  at  1 1  a.m.,  Monday  next,  French  time.  Meantime  the 
British  and  French  are  advancing,  and  the  Americans  are  in 
Sedan.  The  eviction  of  the  Germans  from  France  is  almost 
complete.  The  Bavarians  are  reported  to  have  entered  the 
Tyrol  from  the  north.  Both  Tyrol  and  Vorarlberg  want  to 
set  up  for  themselves.  The  Italians  are  north  of  Bolsana 
(Botzen),  and  it  may  be  a  race  for  the  Brenner  Pass.  I  have 
written  an  article  every  day  this  week  on  all  these  great 
events,  and  for  to-morrow  have  reminded  people  of 
Mommsen's  ideas  on  the  Caudine  Forks  affair,  i.e.  that  no 
Power  can  be  held  to  a  disgraceful  peace. 

Dined  with  Lord  and  Lady  Ancaster  ;  Lady  Ridley,  Lord 
and  Lady  Wolverton,  Lady  Dalhousie,  and  Hankey.  The 
Ancasters  have  bought  Eresby  House  in  Rutland  Gate — a 
tine  large  building  about  17(30,  with  a  great  Renaissance 
ballroom  and  other  rooms  most  un-Londonny.  Quite  a 
charm  of  if-  own,  and  very  attractive.  Most  of  the  talk 
about  the  ooming  meeting  of  the  Unionists  before  the  Elec- 
tion. Wolvciton.  who  has  steadily  subscribed  £1000  a  year 
to  the  party  funds,  inclined  to  ask  what  has  been  done 
with  it.    A  good  dinner.    Lady  Ridley ,  as  ever,  with  a  very 

shrewd  judgment  on  our  allairs.  I  have  never  met  Lady 
Dalhousie  before:  she  ll  Ancastcr's  sister,  and  is  intelligent 
and  attractive,  with  pleasant  manners. 

Saturday,  .\'<>r.  !l.      To  day  eame  the  news  that  the  Kaiher 


48o   FINAL  OPERATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

had  abdicated  and  that  the  Crown  Prince  had  renounced  the 
throne  of  the  German  Empire  and  of  Prussia.  A  Regency 
is  to  be  set  up.  Ebert,  Chairman  of  the  Socialist  Party  since 
Bebel's  death,  nominated  'Imperial  Chancellor.'  A  Bill  to 
be  brought  in  for  General  Suffrage  and  for  a  Constitutional 
German  National  Assembly,  'which  will  settle  finally  the 
future  form  of  Government  of  the  German  nation  or  of  those 
people  which  might  be  desirous  of  coming  within  the  Empire.' 
So  runs  Max  of  Baden's  decree.  Thus  perishes  autocracy, 
drowned  in  blood.  London  more  interested  to-day  in  a  great 
Lord  Mayor's  show,  and  in  visiting  the  captured  German 
guns  in  the  Mall,  than  in  the  Kaiser's  fate.  The  news  of  the 
signing  of  the  Armistice  hopefully  but  anxiously  awaited. 
The  Delegates  communicating  with  Spa  by  courier.  Much 
confusion  on  the  roads  and  much  firing  delays  his  move- 
ments. The  German  Armies  in  general  retreat.  The 
Guards  have  taken  Maubeuge,  and  the  French  are  near 
Hirson.  The  Scheldt  crossed  in  several  places  by  the 
British  and  Belgians.  All  the  news  from  Germany  is  of 
revolt  at  many  great  towns,  including  Kiel  and  all  the  war 
ports.  The  whole  machine  of  Army,  Navy,  and  Govern- 
ment looks  like  breaking  up,  but,  on  the  whole,  bloodlessly. 

In  the  afternoon  went  to  see  Doris  Keane  in  her  new 
comedy,  but  left  after  the  first  act  to  welcome  General 
Townshend  and  his  wife,  who  reached  Victoria,  3.31  p.m. 
He  was  looking  brown,  and  much  older  and  very  thin,  but, 
on  the  whole,  well.  Lord  and  Lady  Beresford  drove  them 
off  in  their  motor.  Many  other  friends  present  to  greet 
them. 

Sunday,  Nov.  10.  Nothing  more  of  a  definite  character 
about  the  Armistice.  Lunched  with  the  Beresfords  and  met 
the  Townshends  and  Sir  Edward  Carson.  Townshend  told 
us  a  lot  more  about  his  experiences,  and  we  walked  back  to 
his  hotel  together,  and  I  had  some  more  details  from  him. 
I  have  put  it  all  in  an  unsigned  article  for  the  M.P.  to- 
morrow, and  also  wrote  another  article  of  the  negotiations, 
if  one  can  so  call  them.     Carson  in  great  form  and  inclined 


1918]  ARMISTICE  DAY  481 

to  think  that  L.  G.'s  place  in  history  may  be  higher  than  we 
thought,  when  all  his  difficulties  are  considered.  Carson  is 
anxious  about  the  red  feeling  on  the  Clyde  and  in  the  north, 
and  is  convinced  that  we  most  sec  all  our  demobilised  men 
through  the  first  difficult  times  till  they  get  employment, 
no  matter  what  it  costs.  He  is  in  favour  of  a  General 
Election.  He  declares  that  he  believes  in  the  venerable 
adage,  '  Si  vis  paoem,'  etc. 

Monday,  Nov.  11.  Armistice  Day.  A  great  day.  The 
Kaiser  has  not  only  abdicated  but  has  taken  flight  to  Holland, 
deserting  his  Armies  of  over  3,000,0<^0  men.  A  more  or  less 
bloodless  revolution  is  in  full  swing  throughout  Germany, 
and  all  the  kings  and  princes  of  the  German  Empire  are 
toppling  down  one  after  another.  We  learned  also  early 
to-day  that  the  German  Delegation  had  signed  the  Armistice 
conditions  at  5  a.m.  this  morning  and  that  hostilities  would 
cease  at  11  a.m.  to-day.  At  11  a.m.  the  maroons  sent  their 
well-known  warning,  and  then  the  guns  and  bells  began  over 
all  London,  flags  appeared  everywhere,  huge  crowds  filled 
the  streets,  and  there  was  much  rejoicing  and  happiness  on 
all  faces.  In  Parliament  L.  G.  read  out  the  Armistice  con- 
ditions, which  are  severe.  The  Germans  have  to  evacuate 
all  invaded  territory  and  to  be  10  kils.  east  of  the  Rhine 
within  31  days.  We  are  to  occupy  all  the  left  bank  and  the 
towns  of  Mayence,  Coblenz,  and  Cologne,  'with  a  radius  of 
30  kils.  on  the  east  bank.  The  enemy  is  to  hand  over  5000 
guns,  30,000  machine  guns,  3000  minenwerfer,  and  2000 
aeroplanes.  He  is  to  pay  for  the  occupation  by  our  troops. 
All  OUT  prisoners  arc  to  be  returned  at  once.  He  has  to  give 
up  all  specie  stock,  ami  paper  money  stolen.  He  has  to 
surrender  .ill  submarines,  including  mine-layers;  and  those 
ible  t<>  leave  port  an-  to  be  under  our  supervision.  Six 
battle  cruisers,  10  battleships,  8  light  cruisers,  and  50 
destroyers  are  to  be  disarmed  and  interned  in  a  neutral  or 
Allied  port,  and  all  other  service  snipe  to  be  paid  off,  disarmed, 
and  placed  under  our  supervision.    We  have  the  right  to 

npy  Heligoland  and  enforce  these  naval  conditions  if 


482    FINAL  OPEEATIONS  AND  THE  ARMISTICE 

they  are  not  carried  out.  All  Russian  warships  are  to  be 
handed  over  to  us:  5000  locomotives,  150,000  wagons,  and 
6000  motor  wagons,  in  good  working  order,  to  be  handed 
over  to  us  within  the  period  fixed  for  evacuation.  We 
may  occupy  all  the  German  forts  and  batteries  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Kattegat  and  the  Baltic.  The  fault  in 
the  conditions  is  the  failure  to  insist  upon  a  German 
demobilisation. 

Lunched  with  Mrs.  Greville ;  Mrs.  Keppel,  Mr.  Pringle,M.P., 
Lady  Kitty  Somerset,  Fox  McDonnell,  Mr.  Birrell,  and  Lord 
Farquhar.  All  in  great  spirits  and  very  happy.  Pringle 
thinks  that  there  will  not  be  more  than  100  independent 
members  after  L.  G.'s  coming  Khaki  Election.  We  went 
up  to  see  the  drawing-room  floor  which  the  old  Lord  Craven 
fitted  with  the  priceless  Louis  xiv.  boiserie  some  60  years 
ago.  It  is  of  great  beauty,  very  perfect  in  taste  and  design. 
Later,  went  down  for  a  chat  with  Sir  W.  Robertson,  with 
whom  I  discussed  all  these  great  events  of  the  past  fort- 
night. R.  said  that  it  had  been  shown  that  the  collapse  of 
the  Armies  of  armed  nations  meant  the  collapse  of  the 
nations  themselves. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  12.  The  rejoicings  continue,  and  London 
still  beflagged.  A  Thanksgiving  Service  at  St.  Paul's. 
Lunched  with  Olive,  Lady  Hope,  and  Bridget,  and  dined 
with  the  Arthur  Robertses  and  Joan  Wodehouse.  Went  to 
the  Coliseum — a  gay  and  joyful  audience.  Townshend  in  a 
box,  again  acclaimed  heartily.  All  the  German  thrones  and 
thronelets  are  falling  like,  ninepins.  The  Kaiser  and  Crown 
Prince  having  bolted  to  Holland,  all  the  minor  princes  of  his 
late  Empire  are  off  their  thrones,  and  all  quietly  enough, 
without  fuss  or  resistance.  Dined  with  the  Scarbroughs : 
Lord  Peel,  Lady  Sarah,  Sir  George  and  Lady  Holford,  Fox 
McDonnell,  and  Lady  de  Trafford.  After  dinner,  it  was 
thought  that  the  Tories  could  be  quite  satisfied  with  L.  G.'s 
written  assurances  to  Bonar  Law  read  out  to  them.  So  are 
the  Coalition  Liberals  with  L.  G.'s  assurances  to  them. 
Labour  alone  recalcitrant,  and  orders  its  men  out  of  the 


1918]  FOOTS  PROCLAMATION  483 

Coalition.  Some  of  the  party  went  on  to  Lady  Randolph's 
concert.  Here  is  the  French  text  of  Foch's  Proclamation 
to  the  Allied  Armies  : 

PROCLAMATION 
du   MARfiCHAL   FOCH 

Commandant  en  chej  des  armies  affiles 

G.Q.G.A.,  k  12  Novcmbrc  1918. 
Officier?.  oous-offioiero,  soldats 

des  armees  alliens 

Apres  avoir  resolument  arrete  lennemi,  vous  l'avez,  pendant 
des  n i « >is.  avee  une  foi  ct  one  energie  inlassables,  attaque  sans 
repit. 

Vous  avez  gagne  la  plus  grande  bataille  de  l'Histoire  et  sauve 
la  cause  la  phis  Bacree  :  la  Liberte  du  monde. 

Soyez  fien  I 

D'une  gloire  immortelle  vous  avez  pare  vos  drapeaux. 

La  post&ite'  vous  garde  sa  reconnaissance. 

Le  marechal  de  France, 
Commandant  en  chej  des  armees  alliecs  : 

Foch. 


CHAPTER  XL 
THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE,  1919 

The  rejoicings  continue — The  history  of  the  Police  Strike — The 
Allies  begin  their  march  to  the  Rhine — Enthusiastic  reception  of 
M.  Clernenceau  and  Marshal  Foch  in  London — Facts  about  American 
divisions  and  strengths  in  France  this  year — Hearty  reception  of 
F.M.  Sir  Douglas  Haig  and  his  Army  Commanders  in  London — A 
courteous  letter  from  Sir  Auckland  Geddes — Huge  majority  for  the 
Coalition  at  the  General  Election— The  Peace  Conference  assembles 
in  Paris — Troubles  in  the  Army  the  result  of  strain — The  Lord 
Chancellor  and  the  Dean  of  Durham — The  King  reviews  the  young 
troops — Some  good  stories  at  Sir  E.  Cassel's  house — Parties  and 
gossip — Lord  Dalmeny  on  Allenby— Death  of  the  Dowager  Lady 
Londonderry — Haig  and  Robertson  change  places — The  march  of 
the  Guards  through  London — Secrecy  in  Paris — Mr.  Lloyd  George 
attacks  Lord  Northcliffe — Visit  to  Beaconsfield — Mr.  Laughlin's  ex- 
periences— Visits  to  Easthampstead  Park — Our  maritime  losses — 
Death  of  Lady  Paget — Visit  to  the  Rhine — Situation  of  our  Army  on 
the  Rhine — Return  to  Paris — A  talk  with  Marshals  Foch  and  Petain — 
Their  dissatisfaction  with  the  Conference — Count  Sobansld  on  Poland 
— A  conversation  with  General  Pershing — Peace  with  Germany  signed 
at  Versailles,  June  28. 

Saturday,  Nov.  16.  The  rejoicings  continue,  and  London 
still  covered  with  flags.  A  strange  absence  of  news  from 
the  Armies,  but  the  German  retreat  has  begun,  and  our  ad- 
vance after  them  begins  to-morrow.  On  Thursday  had  tea 
with  Mrs.  Greville,  who  has  been  asked  to  subscribe  to  both 
party  funds,  and  has  refused  both  !  Stayed  gossiping  late. 
On  Friday  lunched  with  the  Ian  Hamiltons,  and  met  Mr. 
Sheldon  S.  Crosby,  of  the  U.S.  Embassy,  who  was  inter- 
esting on  the  subject  of  the  future  after  the  war,  believing 
that  we  should  make  a  Nineteenth  Century  Peace  because  we 
were  not  advanced  enough  to  accept  an  International  Army 
and  Navy.     He  disbelieves  in  disarmament  and  the  League 


19181  THE  POLICE  STRIKE  485 

of  Nations,  but  thinks  that  the  latter  will  some  day  come 
from  the  submerged  tenth,  and  the  International  Force,  too. 
A  good  speaker  and  actor.  General  Ellison  there.  I  asked 
him  to  jot  down  for  me  his  ideas  on  the  future  of  Army 
Organisation.  Robertson  has  sent  me  his,  and  I  am  writing 
to  Monro  to  know  his  views  from  the  Indian  standpoint. 
Crowds  to  see  the  German  guns  in  the  Mall.  I  took 
Letty  to  see  them.  Two  continuous  lines  of  guns  each  side 
all  the  way  down,  and  half  up  Constitution  Hill.  All 
calibres.  The  saddest  sight  was  two  blind  Australian 
soldiers  brought  up  by  their  pals  to  feel  the  guns  which 
they  had  captured.  They  felt  them  and  patted  them  all 
over.     Such  fine  fellows  too  ! 

Sunday,  Nov.  17.  Wrote  on  the  economic  and  food  situa- 
tion of  Germany.  Had  tea  with  Freddy  Wodehouse  to  hear 
the  inner  history  of  the  Police  Strike  which  occurred  early 
in  September  while  I  was  abroad,  and  led  to  his  resignation 
and  that  of  the  Chief  Commissioner,  Sir  Edward  Henry. 
There  had  been  a  Police  Union  created  some  years  ago  by 
an  Inspector  who  had  been  dismissed.  It  had  lately  become 
more  active,  and  the  Police  had  been  forbidden  to  join 
it.  A  constable  named  Theil  had  disobeyed  and  had  been 
dismissed.  The  Union  then  gave  New  Scotland  Yard  some 
36  hours  in  which  to  reinstate  Theil  and  increase  the  Police 
pay  by  13s.  6d.  a  week.  No  notice  was  taken  of  the  threat, 
and  the  Police  were  then  called  out  by  the  Union.  They 
came  out,  first  800,  then  2000,  then  4000.  Smuts  tried  to 
settle  matters,  and  the  War  Cabinet  saw  the  Union  people, 
when  the  threat  was  made — so  it  is  rumoured — that  the 
Trade  of  London  would  be  suspended  the  nexl  day  unless 
the  Union  Ultimatum  was  accepted.  The  War  Cabinet 
surrendered.  Neither  Sir  E.  Henry  nor  Freddy  could  slay 
in  such  circumstances.  There  had  been  no  serious  complaint 
Of  insufficient  pay  ln-fore,  but  the  Police  had  been  unsettled 

bythegrc.ii  rise  of  wages  all  round.     Freddy  thinks  thai  the 

want  of  company  officers  in  the  Force  had  been  ■  mistake, 

and  thai  there    hould  have  been  an  officer  in  each  division 

touch  with  the  men.     The  Police  Strike  created 


486  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

the  worst  possible  impression  in  London,  and  this  once 
popular  body  has  lost  the  confidence  of  the  public.  The 
Specials  called  out  did  well,  except  in  the  working-class 
areas  and  East  End,  where  they  failed  to  respond.  Our 
Hampstead  S.  division  turned  out  well.  Sir  Nevil  Macready 
has  succeeded  Henry,  and  the  W.O.  loses  a  good  A.G. 

Sunday,  Nov.  24.  Six  days  after  the  signature  of  the 
Armistice  the  Allies  advance  to  occupy  Alsace-Lorraine  and 
the  Rhine  Province,  Luxemburg,  and  the  Palatinate.  We 
send  our  two  Senior  Generals,  Plumer  and  Rawlinson,  with 
the  2nd  and  4th  Armies  towards  Cologne.  The  Belgians 
are  on  our  left.  The  American  3rd  Army,  under  Dickman, 
of  10  divisions,  advances  on  Luxemburg  for  Coblenz.  The 
French  make  for  Mainz.  In  all,  there  are  40  infantry  and 
5  cavalry  divisions  to  occupy  German  territory  and  the 
bridge-heads.  The  King  of  the  Belgians  enters  Brussels 
amidst  great  rejoicing,  while  Petain  enters  Metz  and  Castel- 
nau  Colmar.  Foch  will  enter  Strasbourg  to-morrow.  The 
march  of  the  French  into  Alsace  and  Lorraine  is  a  great 
triumph.  This  last  week,  also,  our  Navy  has  received  the 
surrender  of  the  German  warships.  The  ships  of  the  High 
Sea  Fleet  surrendered  to  Beatty  off  the  Forth,  and  the 
submarines  to  Tyrwhitt  off  Harwich.  An  extraordinary 
and  unparalleled  event.     All  passed  off  well. 

Monday,  Dec.  2.  Yesterday  Plumer  crossed  the  German 
frontier,  and  the  general  advance  into  the  Rhineland  and  the 
Palatinate  began.  Yesterday,  also,  Clemenceau  and  Foch 
arrived  in  London  for  a  conference,  and  were  most  enthusias- 
tically received  by  the  people.  Went  to  see  the  reception 
and  was  much  pleased  by  the  sincerity  and  unaffected 
heartiness  of  London's  greeting.  I  have  never  heard  such 
cheering  in  staid  old  London  before. 

Germany  in  a  state  of  political  confusion,  in  which  tragedy 
and  comedy  blend  in  equal  parts.  Austria  nearly  as  bad, 
and  Russia  worse. 

The  losses  of  the  belligerents  begin  to  be  roughly  stated. 
Ours  are  over  3  millions :  Germany  reports  6  millions,  and 
Austria  the  same :    France,  2\  millions  net  loss,  but  her 


1918] 


DATA  ON  U.S,  OPERATIONS 


487 


gross  casualties  not  3-et  stated  :  Russia,  G  millions,  including 
2  millions  dead :  Italy  on  the  way  to  2  millions  gross :  Serbia, 
323,000.  America  has  Tost  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million. 
All  these  need  estimating  on  some  common  system,  and 
they  do  not  include  deaths  or  waste  by  sickness. 

Tuesday.  Dec.  17.  The  occupation  of  the  Rhine  Province 
proceeds  without  incident,  and  we  are  all  now  in  position 
and  holding  the  bridge-heads.  President  Wilson  lands  at 
Brest.  He  reached  Paris  last  Saturday,  and  had  a  magnifi- 
cent reception.  The  General  Election  here  has  not  aroused 
much  interest.  The  voting  took  place  last  Saturday,  and 
t he  result  will  be  announced  on  the  28th.  Haig,  with  his 
chief  Staff  officers  from  G.H.Q.  and  his  Army  commanders, 
arrive  in  London  next  Thursday.  I  wrote  an  appreciation 
of  him  in  to-day's  Post. 

I  asked  Griscom  to  obtain  for  me  a  brief  statement  from 
the  A.E.F.  of  the  facts  about  American  numbers  in  France 
and  numbers  of  divisions  in  the  Hue  this  year,  and  here  it  is. 
A  fine  reeord,  creditable  to  Pershing  and  to  the  Washington 
Administration.  I  base  an  article  in  the  Post  on  it,  which 
will,  I  hope,  silence  the  foolish  statements  which  are  current. 

Office  of  the  Chief  of  Staff 

Fkanck,  December  3,  1918. 
Mkmorandum  for  Col.  L.  C.  Griscom. 

Si  i.tect  :  Data  on  the  Operations  of  the  United  States  Forces 
in  Fiance. 

1.  Number  of  American  Division*  in  France  : — 
January  1,  1918    .     4  divisions. 

G  divisions  ;  1  division  in  line. 
s  divisions  ;  2  divisions  in  line. 

10  divisions  ;  2  divisions  in  lino. 

13  divisions  ;  l  divisions  in  line. 
16  divisions  ;  '<  divisions  in  line. 
24  divisions  ;  '.»  divisions  in  line  (3  of  these 

in  active  sector). 
:!2  division!  ;   10  divisions  in  line  [6  <>f  these 

in   Active   Sector!   and    10   in   reserve   in 

active  s<-<tor). 


1-Vbruary  1,  1918 
March  f.  L018 

Aj.nl  1.   1918 

May  I.  1918 
June  1,  1918 
July  1,  1918 

August  1,  L918 


488  THE  PEACE  CONFEEENCE 

September  1, 1918.  37  divisions;   12  divisions  in  line  (13  in  re- 
serve in  active  sector). 
October  1,  1918    .   40  divisions  ;    19  divisions  in  line  (12  in  re- 
serve in  active  sector). 
November  1, 1918.  42  divisions  ;    18  divisions  in  line  (12  in  re- 
serve in  active  sector). 
2.  Strength  of  Divisions.     While  engaged  in  active  operations 
it  has  been  the  policy  of  the  A.E.F.  to  keep  all  divisions  as  near  to 
war  strength  as  possible.     In  the  Meuse-Argonne  campaign  many- 
divisions  suffered  severe  losses,  but  these  losses  were  replaced  as 
soon  as  possible.     So  that,  for  the  most  part,  all  divisions  were 
kept  within  three  or  four  thousand  men  of  the  authorised  strength. 
This  war  strength,  according  to  the  latest  Tables  of  Organisation, 
is  28,153  officers  and  men. 

The  maximum  number  of  troops  employed  at  any  one  time  was 
reached  on  September  26,  1918,  when  the  Meuse-Argonne  offen- 
sive was  started.  On  this  date  the  number  of  men  employed  on 
the  Western  front  was  as  follows  : — 

Combatants  .  .   1,224,720 

Non-Combatants  .      493,764 


Total      .  .   1,718,484 

3.  St.  Mihiel  Operation.  The  following  divisions  were  engaged 
at  the  beginning  of  the  St.  Mihiel  Operation  : — 

1st,  2nd,  5th,  26th,  42nd,  82nd,  89th,  and  90th  Divisions. 
The  4th  Division  was  later  thrown  into  the  fight.  The  following 
divisions  were  held  in  reserve  during  this  operation : 

3rd,  4th,  35th,  78th,  80th,  and  91st  Divisions. 

4.  Meuse-Argonne  Operation.  The  Meuse-Argonne  Operation 
consisted  of  two  distinct  phases  ;  the  first  commencing  on 
September  26,  and  lasting  until  November  1,  1918.  Upon 
that  date  a  second  attack  was  made  which  continued  until  the 
Armistice  went  into  effect  on  November  11. 

The  following  ten  divisions  began  the  operation  on  September 
26th,  in  the  front  line  : — 

4th,  26th,  28th,  33rd,  35th,  37th,  77th,  79th,  80th,  and 
91st  Divisions. 
Upon  this  date  the  following  eight  divisions  were  in  reserve  : — 
1st,  2nd,  3rd,  5th,  29th,  32nd,  82nd,  and  92nd  Divisions. 
All  these  reserve  divisions  were  later  thrown  into  the  fight,  to- 


1918]    HAIG  AND  HIS  ARMY  COMMANDERS    489 

gether  with  the  following  divisions  which  were  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  First  Army  : — 

42nd,  78th,  89th,  and  90th  Divisions. 

The  initial  attack  on  September  2G,  litis,  was  very  successful, 
and  netted  an  extreme  advance  of  10  kilometres  in  two  days. 
From  October  1  until  October  18,  there  was  continuous  fighting 
along  the  whole  Army  front,  from  west  of  the  Argonne  forest  to 
the  Meuse,  but  no  concerted  attack  was  made  until  November  1. 
On  October  25  the  fine  extended  almost  due  east  and  west 
through  a  point  about  2  kilometres  north  of  Grand  Pre. 

On  November  1  a  general  attack  was  launched,  preceded  by 
B  carefully  prepared  artillery  bombardment.  This  attack  was 
extremely  successful,  and  resulted  in  an  advance  of  nearly 
40  kilometres  in  seven  days. 

5.  The  Second  American  Army.  At  the  time  the  Armistice  went 
into  effect  there  were  evidences  of  a  general  withdrawal  along  the 
front  of  the  2nd  Army  from  the  Meuse  on  the  west  to  the 
Moselle  on  the  east.  The  2nd  Army  was  preparing  to  follow 
vigorously  this  withdrawal. 

The  following  divisions  composed  the  2nd  Army  : , 

4th,  7th,  28th,  33rd,  35th,  88th,  and  92nd  Divisions. 

Fox  Conner, 
Brigadier-General,  G.S., 
Asst.  Chief  of  Staff,  0.3. 

The  Armistice  has  been  prolonged  with  certain  minor 
modifications.  Next  week  there  begins  the  Peace  Confer- 
ence in  Paris.     A  tangled  skein  to  um-avel  indeed. 

Thursday,  Dec.  19.  To-day  Haig  with  his  live  Army 
Commanders,  Plumer,  Rawlinson,  Birdwood,  Byng,  and 
Borne,  came  to  London  with  the  chief  officers  of  G.H.Q. 
and  drove  from  Charing  Cross  to  Buckingham  Palace.  A 
fine  Bunny  day.  No  escort,  nor  did  troops  line  the  road,  nor 
wen-  any  public  decoration*  ordered.  But  the  reception  by 
the  public  was  most  warm,  and  the  cheering  equalled  that 
for  Poch  and  demenceau.  There  were  enough  Hags  to  make 
the  route  gay.  I  went  to  see  it  in  Piccadilly  from  the  roof 
of  th<-  writing  room  Of  the  X.  and  .M.  Club.     A  large  s<  1 1  i.i  dron 

of  aeroplanes  manoeuvred  oven  our  heads.     Lunched  with 
King  Manuel  and  the  Sricomte  Asaeoa  .-it  the  Rita,  and  dis- 


490  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

cussed  the  murder  of  the  Portuguese  President  and  the 
King's  travels  in  England  and  Ireland.  We  were  talking  of 
a  man  who  is  deaf,  and  King  Manuel  told  us  that  his  father, 
who  was  also  a  trifle  hard  of  hearing,  had  once  made  a  famous 
remark  about  it,  namely,  that '  une  surdite  bien  administree 
vaut  mieux  qu'un  majorat.''  We  agreed  that  Soveral  had 
been  far  more  correct  in  his  views  on  the  war  than  any  other 
foreign  diplomatist  in  London.  I  was  also  amused  with  the 
story  of  Lord  Bertie  in  Paris,  after  a  risky  story  told  at  a 
luncheon  party  at  the  Ritz,  having  turned  to  Ollivier  and 
said  to  him,  '  II  ne  faut  pas  raconter  cette  histoire  a  la  Pre- 
fecture '  (of  Police).  Every  maitre  d'hotel  is  credited  with 
recounting  all  the  tittle-tattle  of  the  smart  restaurants  to 
the  police.  King  M.  advised  me  most  seriously  to  '  Watch 
Portugal.'     Evidently  something  is  due  to  happen  there.1 

Friday,  Dec.  20.  Mr.  Peacock,  the  manager  of  the  Morning 
Post,  sends  me  a  telegram  received  by  him  from  General 
Nolan,  Assistant  Chief  of  Staff,  American  Expeditionary 
Force,  asking  permission  to  reprint  and  distribute  as  an 
official  leaflet,  and  also  to  publish  in  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
which  is  the  official  newspaper  of  the  A.E.F.,  my  article  of 
Dec.  9,  on  America's  Effort.  Nolan  says  that  the  article  is 
admirable,  has  greatly  pleased  all  officers  of  the  American 
Army,  and  that  it  is  thought  advisable  to  give  it  very  full 
circulation  among  the  officers  and  men  of  the  A.E.F. 

Sir  Auckland  Geddes  has  the  courtesy  to  send  a  nice  letter 
to  his  N.S.R.s.     Here  it  is  : — 

Ministry  of  National  Service, 
Westminster,  S.W.I, 
llih  November  1918. 

Dear  Sir, — Now  that,  owing  to  the  glorious  issue  of  the  War, 
the  work  of  the  Ministry  of  National  Service  is  coming  to  a  close, 
I  desire  to  take  the  earliest  opportunity  of  personally  thanking 
you  for  your  loyal  co-operation,  and  for  the  invaluable  assistance 
you  have  given  in  undertaking  the  arduous  duties  of  a  National 
Service  Representative. 

The  successful  recruiting  of  His  Majesty's  Forces  has  been 

1  A  month  later  the  monarchical  rising  in  Oporto  began. 


1919]  THE  GENERAL  ELECTION  491 

largely  due  to  the  enthusiasm  and  devotion  to  duty  which  have 
been  shown  by  you  and  other  voluntary  National  Service  Repre- 
sentatives. 

I  well  know  what  a  difficult  and  thankless  task  was  entrusted 
to  you.  The  smooth  and  successful  operation  of  measures  so 
inherently  distasteful  to  our  countrymen  as  the  Military  Service 
Acts  is  no  small  tribute  to  the  energy,  tempered  by  tact,  with 
which  you  and  other  National  Service  Representatives  have 
carried  out  your  duties. 

To  the  expression  of  my  deep  appreciation  of  the  assistance 
you  have  given  I  add  the  confident  hope  that  your  patriotic  and 
unselfish  services  will  be  gratefully  remembered  by  the  Nation. — 
Yours  faithfully,  A.  C.  Geddes. 

Lieut.-Col.  k  C.  Repington, 

Maryon  Hall,  Hampstead,  N.W.  3. 

Monday,  Jan.  6.  The  turmoil  of  the  General  Election 
has  now  calmed  down.  The  Coalition  has  a  huge  majority, 
and  all  those  who  have  gone  against  the  national  sentiment 
during  the  war,  or  are  even  supposed  to  have  been  remiss, 
have  been  thrown  out.  But  only  50  per  cent,  of  the  new 
Electorate  have  voted,  and  the  new  female  suffrage  has 
not  resulted  in  the  return  of  a  single  woman  member  in 
Great  Britain.  The  Peace  Conference  assembles  this  week 
in  Paris.  The  two  months'  delay  since  the  Armistice,  the 
inaction  of  our  Armies,  and  the  delays  in  demobilisation, 
have  caused  some  unrest,  and  there  have  been  unruly 
■  -  both  in  our  Armies  in  France  and  here  at  home. 
Thi  result  of  reaction  after  strain. 

The  Marquis  [mperiali  and  Max -Midler  interest  me  greatly 
at  a  week-end  party  w  here  we  had  good  talks  over  the  critical 
oi  1914.  The  Ambassador  is  sure  that  Mensdorff 
never  beli  ved  ill  war.  Mensdorff,  he  sty<,  had  the  faculty 
of  n"t  looking  at  thing  thai  he  did  nol  wish  to  see  or  that 
weredisagreeabli  ,and  told  [mperiali  and  others  that  England 
would  never  go  to  war.  Lichnowsky  was  pessimistic,  and 
[mperiali  thought  that  he  had  been  warned.  Be  says  that 
Lichnowsky'i  account  arc  perfectly  accurate  and  lie  can 
confirm  t hem. 

VOL.  II.  2  K 


492  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

Berchtold,Forgach,and  HerrvonTschirschky,the  German 
Ambassador  at  Vienna,  seem  to  have  drafted  the  Ultimatum 
to  Serbia  together.  Max-Muller,  who  was  at  Pesth,  heard 
of  the  Ultimatum  on  July  23.  Imperiali  says  that  the 
Secret  Treaties  between  France,  England,  and  Italy,  by 
which  the  latter  Power  joined  the  Entente,  were  signed  at 
2  p.m.  on  April  25,  1915,  and  that  the  same  evening  they 
were  mentioned  at  a  cocotte's  dinner  party  at  Paris,  at 
which  was  present  an  Italian  who  warned  the  Ambassador. 
We  could  not  decide  when  it  was  that  the  Kaiser  was  won 
over  to  the  war,  but  we  agreed  that  his  military  party  took 
charge  of  affairs  and  that  the  Kaiser  rather  consented  to 
war  than  wished  war.  Fritz  Ponsonby,  who  was  with  us, 
is  writing  a  History  of  the  Grenadiers  in  the  war,  and  lays 
stress  on  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  German  facts.  We 
all  agree  that  a  veridic  history  of  the  days  of  June,  July, 
and  August  1914  will  be  hard  to  reconstruct,  so  many 
are  the  actors  involved  and  so  intricate  the  intrigues. 

Respecting  the  disobliging  communique  about  Orlando 
published  in  Paris  on  Sept.  1,  and  Mandel's  statement 
to  me  that  Orlando  had  seen  and  approved  it  in  advance, 
Imperiali  assures  me  that  the  text  was  different  from  that 
seen  by  Orlando.  None  of  the  French  papers  which  gave 
it  were  allowed  to  enter  Italy. 

Tuesday,  Jan.  21.  During  the  last  fortnight  the  re- 
presentatives of  25  States  have  assembled  at  Paris  for 
the  Peace  Conference,  and  after  various  preliminaries,  held 
their  first  seance  pleniere  at  the  Quai  d'Orsay.  Clemenceau 
elected  to  preside,  and  he  looks  like  keeping  the  team  in  order. 
The  affair  began  by  a  coolness  between  the  Conference  and 
the  Press  because  the  latter  was  deprived  of  news,  but 
the  thing  has  blown  over.  Foch  renews  the  Armistice 
again  on  the  17th  for  a  month.  I  make  out  that  the 
Germans  had  demobilised  some  2,700,000  men  early  this 
month,  but  still  have  some  2,000,000  of  all  sorts  under 
arms.  By  to-day  there  are  only  some  19  German  divisions 
in  the  East  and  5  in  the  West,  and  I  should  say  that  by 
the  end  of  this  month,  including  all  garrisons,  the  Germans 


1919]  TROUBLES  IN  GERMANY  403 

will  be  down  to  their  old  Peace  strength.  The  French 
boast  that  they  themselves  will  have  demobilised  2,000,000 
by  March.  The  Americans  have  sent  home  most  of  their 
men  in  the  U.S.  camps  and  from  England,  but  only  114,000 
from  France  yet.     We  have  sent  home  about  half  a  million. 

All  quiet  in  Alsace-Lorraine  and  the  occupied  parts  of 
Germany.  The  Germans  have  had  a  lot  of  trouble  with 
their  extremists  in  Berlin,  and  much  fighting  has  taken  place 
there,  culminating  in  the  doing  to  death  of  Liebknecht,  the 
fanatical  Sparta  cist,  and  Rosa  Luxemburg,  the  female 
fury  who  was  hisbest  help.  Most  of  Germany  fairly  quiet, 
and  the  elections  for  the  new  National  Assembly  took  place 
yesterday,  resulting  in  the  Majority  Socialists,  or  present 
Government  party,  having  the  largest  following,  and  the 
Democrats  the  next  biggest. 

I  have  been  writing  most  days  on  the  questions  before 
the  Conference.  The  real  crux  is  the  Russian  policy  which 
the  Powers  are  to  pursue.  An  indiscretion  of  the  Humanile, 
which  published  a  despatch  of  Pichon's  of  Jan.  5,  showed 
us  to  our  dismay  that  L.  G.  had  been  trying  to  get 
Bolshevist  delegates  to  Paris.  Most  people  think  that 
Poland  ought  to  be  helped  by  us  and  also  the  loyal  Russian 
forces  which  are  fighting  Bolshevism,  but  the  Conference 
cannot  make  up  its  mind  what  to  do,  and  we  hear  that 
President  Wilson  will  not  let  it. 

I  have  seen  much  of  the  Poles  here  and  have  heard  their 
bide,  which  I  am  defending.  Count  Sobanski  and  M.  Zalicki 
are  very  useful  to  me.  Winston  has  the  War  Office,  and 
is  wisely  having  long  talks  with  Haig  about  things.  The 
appointments  of  F.  E.  Smith  as  Lord  Chancellor  and  of 
Walter  Long  as  First  Lord  are  much  criticised  by  the 
NorthclifTe  Press,  while  Winston's  nomination  to  be  War 
Secretary  displeases  "thers.  The  Duchess  of  St.  Albans 
promisee  me  her  father's  (Bernal  Osborne)  private  Memoirs, 
which  I  want  to  see,  as  he  knew  so  much  and  so  many  people 
in  his  day.  B.  O.'s  wife,  1  remember,  once  said  that  one 
of  her  daughters  had  married  a  duke  and  the  other  a 
policeman.    The  latter  was  Sii  Henry  Blake,  whom  I  knew 


494  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

so  well  in  the  old  Land  League  days.  He  is  just  dead,  alas  ! 
I  think  the  Irish  Convention  killed  him.  I  told  the  Duchess 
how  much  I  admired  him,  even  before  he  made  his  great 
career  as  Colonial  Governor. 

At  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland's  at  Sutton  Place  I  met 
Marconi  last  Sunday.  He  terrified  us  by  saying  that  he 
had  discovered  a  machine  to  take  photographs  through 
a  wall  or  ceiling,  thus  opening  up  a  prospect  of  unlimited 
trouble.  Photos  taken  by  this  horrible  instrument  in  the 
street  show  one's  figure  without  the  clothes  !  Also  he 
said  that  he  could  now  receive  wireless  telephone  messages 
from  1000  miles  distance,  and  that  some  day  he  would  so 
store  energy  that  a  motor  car  would  run  for  a  thousand 
years  without  recharging.  Heaven  grows  more  and  more 
a  better  world !  The  Sutherlands  have  made  Sutton 
Place  more  perfect  than  ever.  They  have  placed  in  it 
their  beautiful  Romneys,  Hoppners,  etc.,  including  the 
exquisite  Gower  family,  and  with  the  tapestries  the  place 
is  now  a  treasure  house  and  most  comfortable.  The  great 
Perseus  bronze  is  very  admirably  placed  on  the  crest  of 
the  slopes  on  the  river-side  and  looks  uncommonly  well. 
Rivaroli's  paintings  are  mostly  in  a  room  by  themselves, 
and  are  very  brilliant  and  decorative  on  a  grey  blue  wall. 

Friday,  Jan.  24.  Still  writing  daily  on  the  Conference. 
We  are  asking  the  Bolshevist  and  other  local  Russian 
Governments  to  confer  with  us  at  Prince's  Islands  in 
the  Sea  of  Marmora,  to  the  extreme  annoyance  and  disgust 
of  the  anti-Bolshevists.  We  are  also  sending  a  mission 
to  Poland.  Both  these  plans  are  to  get  information.  In 
each  case  an  echappatoire  to  excuse  the  Conference  from 
doing  anything.  We  have  masses  of  information  on  both 
subjects  already.  Dined  with  the  Scarbroughs,  Wednesday 
— an  agreeable  evening.  Jack  Cowans,  Lord  R.  and  Lady 
Moyra  Cavendish,  Colonel  and  Lady  Florence  Willoughby, 
the  Maguires,  and  a  relative  of  the  host's  who  gave  me  an 
interesting  account  of  her  experiences  in  France.  We 
talked  rather  late.  Scarbrough's  Volunteers  have  pretty 
well  ended  their  activities.     There  were  305,000  of  them 


1919]  THE  LEAGUE  OF  NATIONS  495 

before  the  war  ended,  and  now  S.  thinks  that  the  original 
Territorials  will  be  reconstituted.  Bad  accounts  of  the 
numbers  of  recruits  taking  on  for  the  Regulars  :  it  is  said 
only  11,000  as  yet  !  Dined,  Thursday  23,  at  Lady 
Downshire's,  43  Charles  Street,  and  met  Lord  Edward 
Gleichen,  Mrs.  Chaplin,  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  Major  Graves, 
Lady  Massereene,  and  Mrs.  Handford,  the  Bishop  of  Down's 
daughter.  Lady  Downshire's  husband  died  about  a  year 
ago.  A  nice  medium-sized  house  formerly  Cis  Bingham's. 
The  Italian  decorations  have  been  removed,  and  the  house 
has  been  done  up  in  early  English  style,  severe,  restful, 
and  in  excellent  taste.  A  beautiful  and  charming  hostess, 
and  a  very  pleasant  evening. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  4.  All  the  Russian  patriot  parties  have 
refused  the  invitation  of  the  Conference  to  meet  in  the 
Sea  of  Marmora.  Last  week  the  question  of  the  disposal  of 
the  captured  territories  came  up.  Wilson  wants  to  apply 
the  mandatory  scheme  advocated  by  General  Smuts  in 
his  pamphlet  on  the  League  of  Nations,  and  our  Dominions 
hate  it,  as  do  the  French,  but  a  provisional  compromise 
has  been  effected.  The  Commissions  at  work  at  last. 
There  will  be  much  trouble  about  the  League,  as  President 
Wilson  is  apparently  trying  to  make  it  a  sort  of  World 
Government  and  going  much  too  fast.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Peace  terms  go  much  too  slow.  Here  we  are  nearly 
three  months  from  Armistice  Day  and  we  can  present  no 
peace  terms  to  the  Boche. 

WTent  to  the  first  big  function  since  the  Armistice, 
a  dinner  of  100  at  10  tables  at  Lord  Furness's  house 
and  a  dance  afterwards,  where  many  people  turned 
up.  A  pleasant  dinner.  I  watched  a  couple  of  dances 
or  so  and  then  left.  A  rare  lot  of  pretty  women  ;  many 
smart  young  fellows  still,  mostly  in  uniform,  and  a  bevy 
of  pretty  girls.  Nearly  every  one  in  London  seemed  to 
be  '  here.  All  the  new  dances,  if  they  can  be  called  dances, 
and  jolly  dresses,  but  very  little  of  them.  Many  ladies 
told  me  that  they  felt  quite  dazed  in  a  throng  strange  to 
us  all  for  nearly  live  years.     How  soon  the  world  forgets  ! 


496  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

Hardly  a  family  represented  there  that  had  not  lost  one 
member  or  more  in  the  war. 

Labour  troubles  very  bad.  To-day  all  the  tubes  were 
closed. 

Sunday,  Feb.  9.  L.  G.  returned  from  Paris  yesterday 
to  meet  Parliament,  which  has  just  reopened.  Labour 
troubles  more  serious.  Owing  to  snow  and  stoppage  of 
tubes  and  district  railways  I  am  nearly  marooned  on  my 
mountain.  Much  trouble  with  the  troops,  who  are  rather 
unruly.  They  cannot  understand  the  demobilisation  plan, 
and  march  to  the  W.O.  when,  as  yesterday  and  the  day 
before,  trains  are  not  ready  for  them  to  return  to  France. 
We  have  usually  had  75,000  men  at  home  on  leave  from 
abroad.  They  return  as  individuals,  and  this  works  all 
right  when  things  are  quiet,  but  in  these  times  of  unrest 
and  with  the  cold  and  strikes  it  does  not  answer.  They 
do  not  want  to  go  back  to  France,  and  those  ordered  to 
return  to  Cologne  to  be  demobilised  and  sent  back  home 
again,  think  the  plan  foolish,  as  indeed  it  is,  and  do  not  look 
forward  to  the  long  and  cold  journey  by  rail,  where  a  bad 
service  and  great  delays  cause  hardship.  These  stray 
men  have  no  officers  or  N.C.O.s  with  them,  and  there  are 
not  enough  rest  camps  between  London  and  Folkestone 
to  take  them  in.  The  hostels  in  London  are  also  not  too 
popular. 

Yesterday  I  found  Victoria  guarded  by  Scots  Guards 
and  the  Blues,  and  met  Mr.  John  Burns,  who  was  very 
critical  of  the  want  of  arrangements  and  the  use  of 
armed  force.  But  things  had  got  beyond  a  joke,  and 
though  all  sympathise  with  the  men  the  indiscipline  must 
be  stopped.  Robertson  has  been  placed  in  charge  of  affairs 
by  Winston.  I  think  that  he  will  get  the  Guards  Division 
home,  as  the  units  in  London  are  very  weak.  He  says 
that  the  troops  have  behaved  well  in  Glasgow,  etc.,  but  he 
cannot  get  any  one  to  tell  him  that  it  is  legal  to  tell  troops 
to  break  a  strike  by  taking  the  place  of  strikers.  On  the 
whole,  the  new  scale  of  bonuses,  rising  from  half  a  guinea 
a  week  for  a  private,  for  the  Armies  of  Occupation  has  been 


1919]         LLOYD  GEORGE  AND  BRIAND  497 

well  received,  but  R.  wishes  the  scale  applied  to  all  troops, 
and  thinks  that  the  new  scale  for  the  future  Regular  Army 
must  be  something  nearly  the  same.  Winston  promises 
to  try  and  settle  this  matter  this  week. 

Elisabeth  Asquith  engaged  to  the  Rumanian  Prince 
Bibesco.  Met  Lady  Cynthia  Asquith  to-day  at  Lady 
Randolph's  :  she  describes  the  Prince  as  one  of  the  cleverest 
men  she  knows.  Soveral,  Lady  Gwendoline,  General 
Ashmore,  and  Stephen  Leslie  all  very  amusing.  Lady  R. 
told  a  story  of  an  admirer  pouring  out  praises  of  his  lady- 
love to  a  cynic.  '  Her  virtue  is  above  rubies,'  gushed  the 
admirer.  '  Try  diamonds,'  replied  the  cynic.  Another 
tale  of  M.  Cambon  on  his  first  sight  of  the  new  Jazz  dancing. 
1  Qu'en  pensez-vous,  Excellence  ? ' — '  C'est  epatant,  les  figures 
sont  si  tristes,  et  les  derrieres  si  gaies  !  '  S.  L.  says  that  the 
young  women,  seventeen  to  twenty-four,  are  a  class  by  them- 
selves. They  want  independence,  don't  like  the  generation 
next  older  to  them,  won't  meet  their  friends  or  read  the 
same  books  or  admire  the  same  art.  A  general  movement 
of  social  mutiny  against  the  old  feminine  trammels.  Even 
quite  young  girls  affected  by  it.  It  is  not  a  movement  to 
get  more  liberty  to  meet  men  friends,  but  rather  the  contrary. 
The  corresponding  young  men  appear  to  dislike  these  ideas. 
Met  Bee  Pembroke  at  Lady  Scarbrough's  yesterday.  The 
Wilton  hospital  is  closed.  Reggie  still  in  Paris.  Bee  sat 
between  L.  G.  and  Briand  one  night  at  the  Embassy  in 
Paris ;  and  translated  the  questions  and  answers.  L.  G. 
asked  what  Briand  would  now  do  in  his  place.  Briand 
replied  that  he  would  have  L.  G.'s  information  and  would 
act  accordingly.  L.  G.  also  asked  how  many  times  Briand 
had  been  P.M.  '  Seven  times,'  replied  Briand.  '  When 
will  you  be  P.M.  again  ?  ' — '  I  have  been  inoculated  so  often 
that  I  am  free  of  the  disease.'  Bee  described  L. G.'s  infectious 
enthusi.i  DO  ae  lie  rushed  in  to  announce  Austria's  surrender. 
The  terms  asked  had  been  purposely  made  most  severe  in 
order  to  test  the  weakness  of  (Jermany.  Scarbrough  has 
many  good  ideas  for  the  Volunteers  and  resuscitated 
Territorials. 


498  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

Tuesday,  Feb.  25.  The  last  fortnight  has  been  marked 
by  the  attempted  assassination  of  glorious  old  Clemenceau, 
who  was  badly  wounded,  but  is  happily  pulling  round .  Wilson 
leaves  for  America,  and  on  arrival  makes  a  great  speech 
at  Boston  in  favour  of  the  League  of  Nations.  The  Con- 
ference marks  time  meanwhile.  Many  labour  troubles 
here,  and  a  threatened  strike  of  the  Triple  Alliance  of 
miners,  railway,  and  transport  men.  L.  G.  at  home  to  cope 
with  it. 

I  have  met  two  interesting  men  lately,  one  the  American, 
Mr.  George  Creel,  in  charge  of  information,  propaganda, 
and  secret  service  ;  and  the  other,  Brig. -Gen.  Cockerill,  who 
has  been  in  charge  of  our  secret  information  and  contre- 
espionnage  all  through  the  war.  Creel  has  many  enemies, 
as  any  man  doing  his  job  must  have.  He  is  a  youngish 
man  with  rather  sallow  complexion  and  black  hair.  He 
has  had,  he  says,  150,000  men  under  him,  and  has  placed 
Wilson's  speeches  in  every  town  of  importance  in  the  world 
within  twenty-four  hours  of  delivery.  He  has  a  body  of 
four-minute -speech  men  who  go  round  and  work  things 
up,  also  a  Committee  of  picked  advertisement  agents  and 
writers  who  fill  the  papers  with  things  to  help.  He  declares 
that  his  system  has  cost  a  third  of  ours,  and  is  much  more 
efficient.  Cockerill  told  me  the  whole  story  of  the  adven- 
tures in  London  of  my  telegram  of  May  12,  1915,  about 
the  shells.  Neither  Cockerill  nor  any  of  his  best  men  have 
had  adequate  thanks  or  reward  for  their  work.  The  usual 
fate  of  Intelligence  agents ;  and  the  W.O.  hauled  him  over 
the  coals  for  issuing  an  order  to  thank  his  men.  C.  says 
that  by  working  up  the  wireless  he  sometimes  gave  our 
G.H.Q.  the  German  operation  orders  before  the  operation 
began,  and  also  helped  the  N.I.D.  to  know  when  a  naval 
operation  of  the  Boches  was  pending.  C.  had  his  greatest 
difficulties  in  official  stupidity  and  obstruction.  He  is 
now  M.P.  for  Reigate. 

I  have  met  Winston  twice  at  dinner  lately.  He  is  doing 
well,  and  the  new  rates  of  pay  are  attracting  1500  veterans 
of  the  war  per  day.     He  expects  to  get  250,000  this  year  in 


1919]  F.  E.  AND  BISHOP  WELLDON  499 

addit  ion  t  o  lint  rained  recruits .  He  is  very  ant  i-Bolshe  vist ,  and 
is  for  strong  measures  against  them.  Some  1,500,000  men 
have  been  demobilised,  and  I  also  see  few  Dominion  men 
about  now.  The  Guards  division  are  on  their  way  home,  and 
the  first  unit  marched  into  London  to-day.  Met  Poklevsky 
one  day  at  lunch.  He  is  most  anxious  for  us  to  recognise 
the  Nationalist  Governments  of  Russia.  A  large  dinner  one 
night  at  Mrs.  Kennel's.  I  think  there  must  have  been  thirty. 
Lady  Bonham-Carter  and  Mrs.  Charles  Hunter,  who  were  my 
neighbours,  were  very  agreeable.  Mrs.  K.  and  I  defeated  the 
American  Army  at  Bridge  afterwards.  Mr.  Doubleday,  the 
American  publisher,  came  to  lunch,  22nd. 

Dined  at  Theresa  Lady  Londonderry's  on  the  24th. 
The  Lord  Chancellor  and  Lady  Birkenhead  as  she  is  now, 
Scarbrough,  the  Duke  of  Leeds,  the  Dean  of  Durham, 
Walter  Long,  the  Ladies  Ormonde,  Herbert,  Ilchester, 
and  Mar.  A  very  pleasant  evening.  F.  E.  has  been 
treasuring  up  for  thirty-three  years  his  resentment  at 
having  been  ploughed,  together  with  Amery,  for  a  Harrow 
scholarship  by  the  Dean  when  the  latter  was  Headmaster 
of  Harrow,  and  he  attacked  him  about  it  across  the  table, 
declaring  that  he  had  succeeded  in  everything  that  he  had 
undertaken  in  life  except  on  this  one  occasion.  It  was 
his  only  failure.  '  It  was  rather  my  failure,'  said  the  Dean 
politely.  He  remembered  the  occasion.  Mrs.  Amery  had 
come  to  him  and  had  told  him  how  clever  her  son  was,  but 
all  mothers  did  that.  '  Oh  !  '  said  F.  E.,  not  yet  mollified, 
'  there  was  no  need  for  my  mother  to  tell  you  the  same 
thing  about  me  as  she  felt  certain  you  would  have  dis- 
covered for  yourself.'  F.  E.  said  to  me  that  thirty-three 
yean  was  a  long  time  to  wait,  but  thai  one  always  got  one's 
own  back  in  time.  Il<  had  never  met  the  Dean  since 
the  Harrow  episode!  He  find>  the  Woolsack  a  great 
grind.  He  Bite  for  ten  hours  a  day,  either  on  appeal  cases 
or  while  the  House  of  Lords  is  Hitting.  He  Bays  that  one 
can  do  everything  quickly  except  sit  quickly.     The  Woolsack 

a  comfortable  seat.  No  one  else  is  supposed  to  sit  on 
it  unless  invited  by  the  Chancellor.    But  the  hours  aro  so 


500  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

long  that  F.  E.  thinks  of  taking  a  wrinkle  from  Labour 
and  '  downing  wigs !  '  Walter  Long  and  others  very 
interesting  after  dinner  about  Lord  K.  and  the  earlier 
Cabinets  of  the  war.  The  hostess  in  her  best  form  and 
most  agreeable. 

Lunched  to-day  with  Captain  and  Lady  Eileen  Clarke  to 
hear  about  Murmansk.  Not  much  chance  of  getting  our 
troops  away  from  Archangel  till  June.  Very  few  Russians 
have  joined.  They  expected  food  and  money,  and  when 
they  did  not  get  either  they  stayed  away.  The  Arctic 
kit  of  each  of  our  soldiers  costs  £28.  The  most  useless 
expedition  imaginable.  We  have  people  some  300  miles 
down  the  railway.  Clarke  now  A.D.C.  to  Archie  Murray 
at  Aldershot.  Lady  Eileen  has  been  doing  chauffeuse 
for  generals.  Cis  Bingham  joined  us  and  told  us  a  good 
story  against  her.  One  old  general  had  forgotten  who  his 
chauffeuse  was  and  asked  her,  as  they  nearly  ran  over  some 
one,  '  Who  the  hell  is  that  ?  ' — '  I  'm  damned  if  I  know,' 
Lady  E.  is  credited  with  having  suitably  replied.  Another 
story  of  another  lady  of  title  who  was  driving  a  Minister 
who  was  a  peer.  He  gave  her  some  directions,  and  she 
said,  'Yes,  sir.' — 'I  am  usually  addressed  as  My  lord,'  said 
the  Minister  haughtily.  '  And  I  am  usually  addressed  as 
My  lady,'  replied  the  chauffeuse. 

Sunday,  March  2.  A  quiet  week  in  Paris,  but  the  new 
Armistice  conditions  for  Germany  promise  to  be  nearly 
preliminary  peace  terms  and  to  be  very  onerous.  Things 
in  Germany  are  unpleasant.  Munich  and  some  other 
towns  have  practically  gone  Bolshevist,  and  Kurt  Eisner, 
the  Bavarian  Prime  Minister,  has  been  murdered.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  the  Government  at  Weimar  has  the 
power  to  keep  order.  President  Wilson  busy  in  America 
in  favour  of  his  League  of  Nations.  I  am  supporting 
him,  though  the  Post  is  not  very  friendly  to  the  scheme. 
But  we  cannot  get  Wilson  to  sign  the  Peace  without  the 
League,  and  if  the  signature  of  the  U.S.  is  not  on  the  Peace 
we  shall  have  to  revert  to  balance  of  power  policy  pure 
and  simple,  and  this  will  mean  war  again  later  on.     So  we 


1919]  HABITS  OF  FISHWIVES  501 

have  to  pay  for  the  American  signature  by  accepting 
various  inconvenient  things  which  are  in  the  League  Draft 
Convention. 

Lunched  with  Mrs.  Astor  on  the  26th,  and  met  Lady 
Sackville  and  Bogey.  I  am  concerned  that  Mrs.  A.  has 
to  go  to  a  nursing  home  for  an  operation.  Dined  with 
Lady  Sarah  the  same  night,  and  found  the  Laverys,  the 
Winston  Churchills,  Sir  Ernest  Cassel,  the  Lord  Chancellor 
and  Lady  Birkenhead,  General  Brancker,  Lady  Nunburn- 
holme,  and  Lady  Mar.  An  amusing  talk  after  dinner. 
F.  E.  and  Winston  in  great  form.  It  appears  that  the 
Government  thought  of  prosecuting  the  Morning  Post 
again  the  other  day  for  some  sarcasm  about  Winston, 
and  F.  E.  expected  to  win  the  case  and  get  £2000  damages. 
But  the  Attorney  was  less  certain,  and  so,  wisety,  nothing 
was  done.  Lunched  with  Lady  Pembroke,  27th ;  Jack 
Cowans,  Lady  Mar,  Mrs.  Beckett,  Lord  Lonsdale,  Lady 
Muriel  Herbert,  and  Charles  de  Noailles.  Lady  Muriel 
just  back  from  her  camouflage  school  in  France,  where  she 
has  been  in  charge  of  some  hundreds  of  Boulogne  fisher- 
women  who  have  been  employed  on  the  work.  She  saj's 
that  they  have  an  argot  of  their  own  very  hard  to  under- 
stand. Also  any  fisherwife  beaten  in  an  argument  with 
another,  collapses  on  the  ground  on  her  back,  and  begins 
to  drum  with  her  heels  to  attract  sympathy.  It  is  a 
regular  fashion,  just  as  our  greatgrannies  used  to  get  'the 
vapours  '  and  faint.  Charles  de  N.  says  that  Lady  Muriel 
had  a  succes  fou  in  Paris.  Her  plain  khaki  dress,  short 
dark  hair,  and  air  of  peculiar  distinction  won  the  hearts 
of  all  the  fashionable  ladies  who  raved  about  her.  Several 
of  the  party  had  been  at  Princess  Patricia's  wedding,  and 
were  full  of  it.  Jack  C.  is  to  become  Chairman  of  an  Oil 
Combine  in  Mesopotamia,  and  will  go  on  half  pay,  but  no 
announcement  is  to  be  made  yet. 

An  amusing  luncheon  at  Lady  Massereene's  <>n  the  28th. 
Lady  Canon,  Eslington,  Mrs.  Tom  Bridges,  and  Denis 
Bingham.  A  lot  of  Irish  stories,  but  only  one  remains 
with  me.     An   Ulster  working  woman  in  order  to  keep  her 


502  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

children  away  from  a  dangerous  pond  told  them  that  it 
was  'chock-full  of  wee  popes.'  They  would  not  go  near  it 
afterwards  !  Dined  with  the  Maguires  the  same  night ; 
Lady  Mar,  Lord  Buckmaster,  Colonel  Stanley,  Lady 
Nunburnholme,  Sir  Ernest  Cassel,  Lady  Wolverton,  Lord 
Lurgan,  Lady  Bingham,  Sir  R.  and  Lady  Graham,  Lady 
Delia  Peel,  and  one  or  two  more.  Graham  seems  to  be 
worked  to  death  at  the  F.O.  in  the  absence  of  Hardinge 
and  other  F.O.  men.  Pleasant  and  interesting  talk. 
Lunched  with  Mrs.  Keppel,  Saturday.  She  and  I  and  Lady 
Lilian  Wemyss  walked  into  the  Park  later  to  see  the  King's 
Review  of  the  young  soldiers'  battalions  which  are  off 
to  the  Rhine.  A  fine  day  and  a  good  show.  We  were 
late  and  had  no  tickets,  but  walked  through  as  if  Hyde 
Park  belonged  to  us,  and  got  a  good  place.  The  King 
and  Queen,  Duke  of  Connaught,  Prince  of  Wales,  Sir  W. 
Robertson,  and  many  people  present.  The  crowd  estimated 
at  100,000.  The  young  troops  looked  uncommonly  well, 
and  the  King  seemed  very  pleased.  To-day  Jack  Stirling 
came  up  to  lunch  and  told  us  much  of  interest  about  the 
Germans  in  the  Rhineland.  His  battalion  of  the  Scots 
Guards  is  on  its  way  home.  The  Boches  are  very  obsequious 
at  Cologne.  They  do  not  seek  to  avoid  the  troops,  but  study 
them  with  deep  interest.  No  one  ever  averts  his  head, 
and  there  have  been  no  offences  against  the  Army  of  Occupa- 
tion. Jack  thinks  that  the  rich  get  fed,  but  the  poor  not, 
and  that  if  we  feed  the  people  we  should  control  the  whole 
distribution,  or  the  German  regulations  will  not  be  applied 
properly.  There  seem  to  be  scarcely  any  German  troops 
on  the  Western  front  now.  J.  thinks  that  patriotism, 
as  we  and  the  French  understand  it,  does  not  exist  in 
Germany. 

Theresa  Lady  Londonderry  lunched  with  me  at 
Claridge's  one  day  this  week,  and  was  in  her  most  enter- 
taining mood  and  full  of  good  stories  and  recollections. 
She  is  still  the  best  company  of  any  woman  in 
London. 

Sunday,  March  9.     The  President  left  New  York  on  the 


1919]  DEATH  OF  F.  E.  MACKENZIE  503 

6th  for  Paris.  His  journey  seems  to  have  been  only  a 
moderate  success,  for  the  Republican  Senators  are  opposing 
the  League  of  Nations  Convention  as  drafted.  He  gives 
out  that  the  country  is  with  him,  but  the  uncertainty  on 
this  subject  will  weaken  him  in  Paris,  and  we  shall  have 
to  give  a  balance  of  power  bend  to  our  policy  for  our  security 
if  the  League  fails  or  becomes  jelly -fishy. 

Went  on  the  3rd  to  the  memorial  service  for  F.  E. 
Mackenzie,  formerly  correspondent  of  the  Times  at  Berlin, 
at  St.  Andrew's,  Wells  Street.  The  'Dead  March  in  Saul' 
magnificently  rendered.  A  good  man  at  his  work,  very 
modest  and  retiring,  and  a  great  loss.  All  my  old  Times 
friends  there,  including  those  good  fellows,  John  and  Godfrey 
Walter.  Geoffrey  Dawson,  who  was  there,  has  resigned 
the  editorship,  which  has  been  given  to  Wickham  Steed, 
and  Fleet  Street  wonders  whether  the  policy  of  the  Times 
will  now  be  Croatian,  Serbian,  or  Slovene.  G.  D.'s  letter 
of  resignation  appears  in  the  Morning  Post,  but  not  in  the 
Times.  He  complains  that  Northcliffe  disliked  the  fact 
that  D.  did  not  follow  N.'s  policy  as  ventilated  in  other 
papers.  I  am  amused  that  the  Times  treated  G.  D.'s 
letter  of  resignation  as  G.  D.  treated  mine  and  did  not 
publish  it.  The  biter  is  bit.  It  is  said  that  N.  wrote  to 
complain  that  G.  D.  was  lagging  behind  his  policy,  and 
that  G.  D.  denied  this,  saying  that  on  the  contrary  he  had 
never  attempted  to  follow  !  G.  D.  tells  others  that  he 
has  felt  like  a  dog  with  a  tin  pot  tied  to  his  tail.  I  respect 
his  motives  for  resigning,  but  am  glad  he  is  out,  as  he  was 
not  big  enough,  and  I  can  never  forget  nor  forgive  that  he 
failed  us  at  the  crisis  of  the  war. 

Lunched  with  Lady  Massereene  on  the  4th,  and  met 
Lord  Cur/on,  Lady  Islington,  Mrs.  Handford,  Lord  Dalmeny, 
and  some  others.  Some  talk  with  Curzon  about  the  naval 
ol  the  war,  with  which  he  is  well  acquainted.  Lunched 
with  Bogey  Harris  on  the  Bth,  and  met  Lady  Sarah,  Sir 
\V.  and  Lady  Menzies,  Mi  Eeppel,  and  others.  The 
house  very  nice,  with  BOme  charming  Italian  bronzes, 
marbles,  and  pictures. 


5o4  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

In  the  evening  of  the  6th  a  man's  dinner  party  at  Sir 
E.  Cassel's ;  King  Manuel,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  Lord 
Crewe,  Sir  Matthew  Wilson,  Billy  Lurgan,  and  Felix 
Cassel.  Winston  expected,  but  was  being  assailed  in  the 
Commons  over  a  Bill  and  could  not  get  away.  Much  good 
talk.  We  all  gave  examples  of  Lord  X.'s  tall  stories. 
Mine  of  his  telling  me  that  he  always  hacked  80  miles 
to  covert  on  the  Saturdays  and  80  miles  back  was  only 
voted  good  till  better  were  told.  One  was  of  his  appearing 
at  the  meet  one  day  with  a  long -tailed  straight -shouldered 
animal  that  no  one  knew,  and  saying  that  it  was  one  of  his 
mother's  carriage  horses  which  he  wanted  to  teach  to  jump. 
All  thought  that  he  would  get  a  rattling  fall,  but  when  the 
fox  broke  and  the  hounds  streamed  away  X.  was  with 
them,  the  carriage  horse  fencing  beautifully  and  soon  lost 
the  field.  The  horse  turned  out  to  be  a  famous  chaser  which 
has  just  run  second  in  the  Grand  National !  The  best 
story  was  of  a  grouse  drive,  at  which  after  one  beat,  when 
other  guns  had  at  most  some  10  to  20  brace,  X.  came  along 
and  said  that  he  had  killed  250  brace.  All  were  astonished, 
and  Lady  Y.  went  to  look,  and  sure  enough  there  they  were, 
piled  round  his  butt.  Then  she  turned  them  over  and 
found  that  they  were  stiff  and  cold.  She  rejoined  the 
guns  and  taxed  X.  with  her  discovery.  '  Cold,  were  they  ?  ' 
said  X.  '  Oh  !  yes,  that 's  easily  accounted  for ;  /  was 
using  chilled  shot.'  Played  Bridge  after  dinner  with  the 
King,  the  Chancellor,  and  Lurgan.  The  King  won  a  good 
stake  and  plays  well.  He  told  me  that  the  Revolution  in 
Portugal  had  been  premature,  and  that  he  had  done  his 
best  to  stop  it.  F.  E.  reduced  from  £30,000  a  year  to 
£3000  by  taking  the  Woolsack,  but  he  intends  to  make 
his  turn  at  it  more  memorable  than  any  since  Brougham's 
and  he  is  quite  capable  of  it.  He  added  another  story 
to  our  Lord  X.  collection.  He  stayed  with  him  years 
ago,  and  got  so  annoyed  by  the  tall  stories  that  he  began 
to  cap  each  one  by  inventing  better  stories  of  his  own. 
When  he  was  gone  some  one  asked  X.  what  he  thought 
of  F.  E.     '  He  's  a   nice  fellow  enough,'  said  X.,   '  only 


1919]  F.  E.'S  TOMBSTONE  505 

he  's  such   a   d d  liar.'     F.  E.  says  that    he  will  see 

to  it  that  the  inscription  on  his  own  tombstone  runs 
that  :— 

HE    WAS    LORD    HIGH    CHANCELLOR    OF    ENGLAND 
AND    WAS    CALLED    A    LIAR   BY    LORD    X. 

In  spite  of  these  stories  we  all  agreed  that  Lord  X.  was 
a  quite  unique  personality,  a  good  sportsman,  and  a  true 
friend. 

On  Saturday  night  I  turned  dramatic  critic  for  a  lark 
and  went  to  The  House  of  Peril  at  the  Queen's  Theatre. 
Wrote  an  account  of  it  for  the  Post.  Not  much  in  my 
line  I  think.  My  critique  seemed  to  me  extraordinarily 
poor.  It  seems  that  one  has  to  learn  things  before  one 
does  them.  I  had  quite  forgotten  the  fact  in  watching 
politicians  running  a  war. 

Saturday,  March  15.  The  President  now  back  in  Paris, 
and  things  are  stoking  up  for  big  decisions.  The  Conference 
at  last  concentrating  on  what  they  ought  to  have  begun 
with,  namely,  peace  with  Germany.  During  the  four  months' 
delay  since  Armistice  day  we  must  have  wasted — England 
alone — some  500  millions  on  war  expenditure.  If  our 
War  Cabinet  had  got  their  terms  ready,  which  was  their 
business,  instead  of  muddling  about  with  strategy,  which 
was  not  their  business,  we  might  have  saved  much  of  this. 

A  pleasant  dinner  at  Belle  Herbert's  on  the  10th  ;  the 
Dowager  Lady  Londonderry,  the  Robertsons,  Midletons, 
Lister  Kayes,  and  Lady  Florence  Willoughby.  A  good 
talk  with  Lady  Londonderry  about  people  and  politics. 
She  told  me  that  she  had  had  a  temperature  of  101°  the 
last  time  that  I  dined  with  her,  but  refused  to  stay  in  bed. 
Her  heart  is  troubling  her  and  she  ought  to  he  up,  but  it  is 
the  last  thing  t hat  she  will  ever  do. 

On  the  Lltfa  dined  with  the  Maguires.  An  agreeable 
evening.  >sn'  Fritz  and  Lady  Ponsonby,  George  Peel, 
L<ud  and  Lady  Harcourt,  Lady  Ma&sereene,  Sir  Seymour 
Fortescue,  Lady  Keppel,  and  some  others.  A  lot  of  the  first 
Sir  Robert's  plate  put  out  on  the  sideboard  and  dinner 


506  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

table.  It  was  late  George  in.  and  had  the  Royal  Arms, 
having  belonged  to  the  Duke  of  York.  Very  massive  and 
gorgeous.  After  dinner  I  taxed  Harcourt  about  his  diary. 
He  admitted  that  he  had  a  complete  record  of  the  whole 
of  our  times  since  he  was  nineteen.  He  was.  secretary 
to  his  father,  Sir  William  Vernon  -  Harcourt,  and  when 
he  was  nineteen  he  had  been  given  the  key  of  the  F.O. 
despatch  boxes  by  Gladstone,  who  told  him  that  he  trusted 
Lulu  and  was  the  only  man  who  could  give  him  the  key. 
When  could  he  publish  ?  Lulu  did  not  know,  as  the  diary 
was  too  complete,  and  he  thought  that  the  public  hangman 
would  probably  burn  it.  He  thought  that  no  one  had  a 
fuller  account  of  the  Gladstone,  C.  B.,  and  Asquith  ad- 
ministrations. He  had  a  full  record  of  the  crisis  of  Dec. 
1916,  from  hour  to  hour,  just  as  Montagu  has.  I  wonder 
how  they  will  compare  !  Lulu  says  that  a  diary  is  no  good 
unless  written  up  within  twenty -four  hours  of  events,  and 
I  agree.  McKenna  was  right  in  thinking  that  the  Harcourt 
Memoirs  would  be  one  of  the  chief  documents  of  our  time. 
But  posterity  will  have  to  remember  the  political  bias 
of  the  writer,  and  must  season  his  Radicalism  with  many 
grains  of  Conservative  salt. 

On  the  12th  lunched  with  Lord  Dalmeny  at  his  father's 
house  in  Berkeley  Square  to  talk  over  Palestine  and  Allenby's 
campaigns.  A  very  comfortable  house.  The  pictures 
here,  as  elsewhere,  are  being  resurrected  from  the  cellars. 
We  agreed  that  Allenby  ought  to  be  made  High  Com- 
missioner and  placed  in  charge  of  Egypt,  Messpot,  and 
Palestine,  but  Wingate  still  said  to  be  going  back,  and  the 
F.O.  may  not  be  willing  to  give  up  its  cherished  preserve. 
Dalmeny  told  me  of  the  great  confidence  of  all  in  Allenby, 
and  of  his  immense  prestige.  His  name  written  in  Arabic 
reads  like  El  Nebi,  the  prophet,  and  therefore  the  legend 
that  Jerusalem  would  be  retaken  by  a  prophet  who  had 
come  out  of  the  West  had  come  true.  One  doubting 
Thomas  of  an  Arab  even  asked  whether  Allenby  had  changed 
his  name  when  he  came  upon  the  scene  !  D.  told  me  that 
when  I  was  with  Allenby  watching  him  direct  his  Arras 


1919]  DALMENY  ON  ALLENBY  507 

battle  in  April  1917  there  was  one  thing  whieh  I  did  not 
know.  This  was  the  uncommonly  poor  send-off  which 
he  received  before  launching  his  attack.  He  gave 
me  details.  D.  said  that  I  could  now  appreciate 
the  coolness  of  Allenby  in  deciding  to  attack  in  spite 
of  this  wretched  send-off,  and  his  calm  throughout  the 
battle,  even  more  highly  than  before.  Yes,  indeed  !  His 
whole  professional  repute  was  at  stake,  yet  I  never  saw 
a  man  more  cool  and  confident,  and  his  battle  was  the 
biggest  success  we  had  had  up  to  that  date.  D.  said  that 
no  man  was  more  patient  with  his  subordinate  generals 
than  Allenby,  or  had  degomme  fewer  of  them.  He  had 
lived  through  very  trying  times  in  France  and  Palestine, 
and  D.  thought  that  Allenby's  reorganisation  of  his  Army, 
after  nearly  all  his  white  divisions  had  been  taken  from 
him  after  the  smash  of  March  21  in  France,  was  one  of  his 
finest  services.  He  never  complained,  but  went  cheerily  on 
and  smashed  up  the  Turks  with  his  most  nondescript  Army. 

Dined  with  the  Ernest  Cunards  the  same  night.  A 
pleasant  party  of  the  Spanish  Ambassador  and  Madame 
Merry  del  Val,  quite  recovered  from  her  serious  illness ; 
Jack  Cowans,  who  is  leaving  the  W.O.  on  Saturday  ;  Mrs. 
Hall  Walker ;  Sir  Sidney  Greville ;  Belle  Herbert ;  Mrs. 
Arthur  James  ;  Mr.  Mason ;  Admiral  Sims,  who  is  returning 
to  America  this  month  to  the  deep  regret  of  all  of  us  ;  Mis. 
George  Keppei ;  Lady  Sarah,  off  to  France  this  week;  and 
several  others.  An  interesting  talk  with  Greville  after 
dinner  about  the  young  Prince  of  Wales,  and  a  farewell 
talk  with  the  gallant  Admiral.  The  Ambassador  called 
me  aside  just  as  I  was  sitting  down  to  play  Bridge  to  say 
that  he  thought  my  articles  on  the  Conference  the  best 
that  had  appeared  here,  and  that  lie  had  drawn  the  attention 
of  his  Government  to  them. 

Lunched  with  Colin  Agnew  and  Lord  Berners  in  South 
Audley  Street  on  the  1 3th.  A  quiet  and  comfortable  flat. 
A  -<"'<!  1. ill.  -  Ixmii  ,11 1  .iii'l  |m  in  ics.  !'"  1  in  1  I  had  Diet  in 
Rome,  last  year.     Be  is  a  man  of  intelligence,  and  one  of 

tin-    IksI    amateur   musicians    in    London.      Dined    the   same 

VnL.   II.  2  L 


508  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

night  with  Lady  Downshire  in  Charles  Street.  A  small 
party,  including  her  sister,  Miss  Ruth  Foster  ;  Mr.  Ingram,  a 
Canadian  writer  who  was  very  kind  about  my  work  and 
told  us  much  of  interest  of  present  American  views  ;  Mr.  Leo 
Trevor,  the  playwright,  witty  and  pleasant ;  Wood  of  the 
Grenadiers,  who  played  the  piano  well ;  and  others.  The 
most  restful  house  in  London. 

Sunday,  March  16.  Heard  this  morning  with  deep 
sorrow  of  the  death  of  Theresa  Lady  Londonderry  last 
night,  after  a  short  and  sharp  illness.  She  was  in  the 
House  of  Commons  only  on  Tuesday  last.  A  great  figure 
gone,  and  a  real  true  friend.  A  grande  dame  of  a  period 
which  is  passing  ;  one  of  the  most  striking  and  dominating 
feminine  personalities  of  our  time,  terrifying  to  some, 
but  endeared  to  many  friends  by  her  notable  and  excellent 
qualities.  She  was  unsurpassed  as  a  hostess,  clear-headed, 
witty,  and  large-hearted,  with  unrivalled  experience  of  men 
and  things  social  and  political,  and  with  a  most  retentive 
memory  and  immense  vivacity  and  joie  de  vivre.  A  heavy 
blow  to  her  relatives  and  friends.  In  the  last  fortnight 
I  have  met  her  several  times,  and  each  time  she  seemed  to 
be  at  her  best.     It  seems  scarcely  credible  that  she  is  gone. 

Sir  W.  and  Lady  Robertson  lunched  at  Maryon.  Haig 
is  on  his  way  home  to  take  R.'s  place,  and  R.  goes  out  a 
month  hence  to  command  the  Army  of  the  Rhine.  He  will 
have  ten  good  divisions  under  him,  besides  one  cavalry 
division.  His  L.  of  C.  will  be  by  Antwerp  and  Rotterdam. 
All  the  rest  of  the  stuff  left  in  France  by  us  will  be  gradually 
swept  up,  by  General  Asser  probably,  who  will  do  it  well, 
and  R.  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  He  will  try  and 
get  precise  orders  as  to  his  powers  and  who  is  his  master 
before  he  leaves.  On  the  whole,  he  is  glad  to  go.  It  is  a 
good  thing  for  him  to  command  the  Army  on  the  Rhine. 
At  home  the  position  is  so  uncertain,  with  all  the  Army 
Commanders  coming  home,  that  R.  thinks  that  he  is  better 
out  of  it.  He  tells  me  that  all  the  reports  concur  that  the 
poorer  Boches  are  terribly  short  of  food.  The  whole  of 
Germany  is  fed  up  :    fed  up  with  the  late  Government, 


1919]  AFFAIRS  IN  PARIS  509 

with  their  Press  for  deceiving  them,  and  with  the  present 
Government  for  being  unable  to  make  peace.  We  had 
a  little  talk  over  R.'s  attitude  and  mine  and  Maurice's 
during  the  crisis  of  last  year.  R.  thinks  that  as  time  goes 
on  and  memories  of  the  crisis  fade  away,  people  may  forget 
how  nearly  we  were  losing  the  war,  and  that  our  attitude 
during  that  serious  time  must  be  judged  by  the  critical 
state  of  affairs  which  the  politicians  had  spared  no  effort  to 
conceal  or  distort .  I  agreed  and  said  that  the  politicians 
had  done  what  we  had  told  them  to  do,  but  nine  months  too 
late,  and  only  after  the  Boche  had  kicked  them  hard.  It 
was  our  men,  fighting  against  odds,  that  saved  our  bacon. 
It  comes  to  this,  we  thought,  that  no  one  but  a  perfectly 

d d  fool  can  lose  a  campaign  with  a  British  Army  to 

back  him. 

Sunday,  March  23.  The  past  week  at  Paris  has  not  been 
good.  There  is  still  nothing  done.  President  Wilson's 
wish  to  attach  the  League  Convention  to  the  Peace 
Treaty  with  Germany  helps  to  hang  it  all  up,  for  Allies 
and  Neutrals,  including  some  Republicans  in  the  U.S., 
all  want  to  amend  the  Convention,  while  the  folk  at  Paris 
are  still  not  unanimous  about  what  they  want  from  the 
Boches  in  the  way  of  frontiers,  reparations,  indemnities, 
etc.  The  Boches  are  naturally  growing  uppish  again  : 
they  refuse  passage  for  Poles  through  Danzig,  though  they 
agreed  to  it  under  Article  16  of  the  Armistice  of  Nov.  11, 
and  there  are  grounds  for  believing  that  a  party  in  Germany 
does  not  mean  to  accept  our  terms.  The  Bolshevist  menace 
is  unchanged,  and  in  Egypt  and  Syria  there  are  serious 
troubles.  Allenby  sped  West  last  week,  and  after  thirty- 
six  hours  in  Paris  flew  back  to  suppress  the  Gyppies,  who 
are  more  or  less  in  mild  revolt,  and  there  are  rumours  of 
massacres  a1  Aleppo  and  Damascus.  Allenby  goes  back 
a-  Special  High  Commissioner.  Wingato  is  at  home. 
Allenby  has  seen  L.  (;..  ( 'leinenceau,  Pichon,  etc.,  and  will 
have,    brought    mhiic    life    into   our    Eastern    policy    I    hope. 

Oui  Labour  troubles  at  borne  l<«>k  like  settling  down  pro 
tent,   by  tin-   usual   process  of  giving  miners,  railway,  and 


5io  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

transport  men  about  three -fourths  of  all  they  ask  at  a  heavy 
cost  to  consumers  and  our  general  trade.  At  the  rate  we 
are  going  England  will  in  the  end  become  a  home  for  rich 
cosmopolitans  attended  by  Chinese  coolies,  and  no  working 
men  will  be  able  to  live  in  it,  as  we  shall  produce  every- 
thing at  such  a  cost  that  we  shall  be  undersold  all  round. 
Cotton  goods  from  Japan  now  being  sold  here  at  a  lower 
price  than  Lancashire  can  buy  the  cotton  for  them. 

I  saw  Winston  at  the  W.O.  on  Wednesday  last,  and  had 

an  hour's  talk  with  him.     He  is  using  the  same  room  as 

Haldane  and  Lord  K.,  with  his  own   huge  writing-table 

arranged  as  K.  had  his,  with  the  light  from  the  left.     He 

was  in  good  form,  very  energetic  and  cheerful.    Winston 

revels  in  work.     He  is  pleased  with  the  Haig-Robertson 

exchange,  which  he  seems   to  have   carried    out    himself 

without    consultation.      He   wondered    how    the   country 

would  take  a  grant  to  Haig,  and  I  said  that  the  country 

only  wondered  why  it  had  been  so    long    delayed.      He 

had,    with    surpassing   tenacity,    successfully   commanded 

British   Armies   which   had   beaten   all   previous   records, 

and  we  honoured  them  in  honouring  him.     Besides,  I  told 

him,  he  will  be  invaluable  to  you  in  your  reorganisation, 

and  in  these  matters  there  is  no  better  guide.    Winston 

says  that  in  the  matter  of  new  recruits  we  are  now  on  the 

old  pre-war  standard.     His  great  difficulty  is  what  to  do 

with  the  senior  officers,  of  whom  he  can  employ  only  about 

one  in  five.     He  has  not  got  out  his  new  pay  scale  for  the 

future  Regulars,  and  I  told  him  that  he  could  not  expect 

a  good  flow  of  recruits  until  he  did.     I  asked  him  about 

a  Defence  Minister,  and  he  thought  it  the  correct  solution, 

with  a  soldier,  a  sailor,  and  a  flying  man  at  the  head  of 

their  departments,  represented  in  the  House  by  Financial 

Under  -  Secretaries,    the    Defence    Minister    living    apart, 

perhaps  in  his  own  house.     But  he  has  no  intention  of 

advocating  the  change.     He  does  not  contemplate  a  separate 

staff  of  Jacks-of -all-trades  over  the  whole,  but  the  best  men 

of  each  service  should  learn  the  general  functioning  of  the 

other  services.     He  is  doing  a  lot  of  spade  work,  much 


1919]       THE  RETURN  OF  THE  GUARDS         511 

neglected  of  late,  and  has  two  large  cases  of  papers  which 
he  gets  daily  to  see  what  is  going  on  in  his  department. 
Not  before  it  was  needed. 

On  Saturday  took  Letty  to  see  the  triumphal  march  of  tho 
Guards  through  London.  The  Household  Cavalry  all  on  foot, 
and  then  the  three  Brigades  of  Guards,  each  battalion  followed 
by  its  demobilised  men  in  mufti  and  then  by  wounded  men  in 
lorries.  A  fine  sight,  and  they  took  more  than  two  hours  to 
pass.  A  cold  day  and  a  bitter  wind.  The  young  Prince  of 
Wales — the  White  Prince — riding  a  chestnut  behind  Lord 
Cavan.  A  dapper  well-set-up  young  figure,  and  he  was 
received  with  acclamations  from  all.  He  has  much  come 
on  since  1914  when  I  saw  him  so  often  in  France,  and  has 
had  a  quite  unique  experience  and  a  splendid  education  for 
a  Prince.  The  Guards  have  had  over  44,000  casualties  in 
the  war,  and  they  went  out  under  10,000  strong.  Few,  alas, 
of  the  old  lot  left.  They  were  all  good  and  steady,  and 
there  was  a  great  crowd  to  greet  them.  The  cheering 
rather  subdued  :  the  heavy  losses  were  too  much  on  all 
our  minds. 

The  service  for  Lady  Londonderry  was  at  St.  Peter's, 
Eaton  Square.  A  very  large  gathering,  with  all  the  best 
known  people  now  in  town,  and  several  Ambassadors 
and  Ministers.  Dignified  and  impressive  and  very  sad. 
Madame  Merry  del  Val  drove  me  away  in  her  car  after- 
wards, and  we  mutually  deplored  the  loss  which  we  had  all 
suffered.  Madame  also  told  me  how  deeply  touched  she 
In  r.-cli  had  been  during  her  recent  illness  by  the  kind- 
ness of  her  London  friends.  Her  house  was  always  heaped 
with  flowers,  and  the  King  and  Queen  and  Princess  Mary 
had  called  or  sent  to  inquire  every  day.  She  would  never 
forget  it. 

Finished  reading  Jellicoe's  book  on  The  Grand  Fleet. 
An  honest  book  of  an  honest  man.  Let  the  critics  cavil 
as  they  will.  There  are  the  facts,  and  let  every  one 
make  what  he  will  of  them.  To-day  went  to  see  Mrs. 
Astor,  who  is  just  hack  in  (Jrosvenor  Square  alter  nearly 
three    weeks    of    the    nursing    home.       She    was    looking 


5i2  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

like  a  beautiful  French  eighteenth-century  aquarelle,  half 
sitting  up  in  a  French  bed  with  blue  silk  hangings  and 
coverlet,  and  with  pink  pillows  and  pink  jacket  with  much 
lace  on  it.  A  levee,  or  whatever  the  word  should  be,  of 
self,  Wolkoff,  Brancker,  and  Sir  George  Clerk.  She  has 
had  a  bad  time,  but  was  in  great  spirits,  and  we  told  her 
all  the  news  and  the  potins.  Wolkoff  and  I  walked  away 
together,  and  he  told  me  the  latest  news  of  the  Bolshevists. 
Their  system  is  economically  impossible  and  must  fail, 
but  at  present  by  printing  miles  of  paper  notes  everybody 
more  or  less  gets  a  large  salary  and  does  little  work.  There 
are  no  private  shops  left,  and  the  Red  Guards  supply  the 
Bolshevist  restaurants  by  forced  requisitions  on  the  peasants, 
from  whom  relief  may  eventually  come,  Wolkoff  thinks. 
The  rouble  notes  are  the  only  currency  in  Russia,  but  the 
Bolshies  are  said  to  be  printing  billions  of  foreign  notes, 
and  W.  says  that  the  Petrograd  mint  is  better  equipped 
for  this  than  any  outside  of  America.  They  evidently 
intend  to  deluge  Europe  with  false  money.  The  latest 
arrivals  from  Moscow  think  that  most  people  detest  the 
Bolshevist  rule,  but  realise  the  awful  state  of  affairs  which 
must  come  about  with  the  eventual  crash,  and  so  would 
vote  Bolshevist  as  at  all  events  they  are  fed  and  paid  at 
present,  and  might  be  neither  at  first  with  a  change  of 
regime.  An  appalling  prospect.  We  compared  notes 
about  the  goings-on  at  Paris. 

I  made  the  acquaintance  of  General  Sir  John  Monash, 
the  Australian  Commander,  this  week,  and  regret  not  to 
have  met  him  before.  A  very  alert,  wideawake,  shrewd 
man,  who  has  proved  himself  on  many  fields  in  Gallipoli 
and  France  a  first-rate  leader.  There  are  only  55,000 
Australians  left  this  side  of  the  water  now,  and  they  are 
going  back  at  the  rate  of  5000  a  week.  An  immense  number 
have  married  ;  up  to  1000  in  one  week  recently. 

Tuesday,  March  25.  Yesterday  came  the  news  that 
Karolyi  had  resigned  and  Hungary  had  gone  Bolshevist. 
This  gravely  complicates  our  task,  but  may  galvanise  the 
Paris  Conference  into  action.     Dined  with  Lady  Downshire 


1919]  THE  BIG  FOUR  513 

yesterday  and  met  Mrs.  Jack  Wilson,  the  Becketts,  Miss 
Foster,  and  Lord  Queenborough.  A  pleasant  evening; 
much  talk  of  many  things.  Q.  told  us  that  the  Lords  were 
having  a  field  day  with  the  pacificist?,  who  were  pleading 
for  the  interned  Germans.  Lunched  with  Lady  Massereene 
to-day  and  met  Mrs.  Arthur  Crichton  ;  Mis.  Bate,  who  was 
Vera  Arkwright,  and  has  been  working  all  these  years  at 
an  American  hospital  in  France  ;  Colonel  Frazer  Hunter, 
a  Canadian  officer  in  an  Indian  Cavalry  regiment,  who 
has  been  much  in  Persia  and  Russia  lately ;  Sir  Sidney 
Greville  ;  Lady  Paget ;  and  George  Peel.  Hunter  seems  to 
me  a  good  man.  He  declares  that  the  Bolshevist  plan  is 
to  attack  France  through  Italy,  and  that  the  Hungarian 
upset  is  the  first  move  in  the  game  and  is  of  Bolshevist 
and  German  origin.  He  thinks  that  Germany  will  do  as 
Hungary  has  done,  as  it  is  her  only  chance  of  escaping  the 
severities  of  the  Peace  Terms.  He  thinks  that  our  chance 
of  succouring  General  Denikin  was  three  months  ago,  and 
that  the  General's  cri  de  coeur  sent  from  Ekaterinador 
on  the  5th  and  only  published  here  to-day,  is  a  warning 
that  he  cannot  hold  out  much  longer.  Mrs.  Bate  very 
pretty.  I  met  her  at  Lord  Ribblesdale's  early  in  the 
war.  and  have  not  seen  her  since.  She  was  expected  to 
marry  either  X.  or  Y.,  and  then  married  an  American 
artist  in  Paris.  Drove  off  with  Lady  Minnie,  and  we 
discussed  Paris  affairs,  private  and  public. 

Monday,  March  31.  Owing  to  some  indiscretion,  L.  G.'s 
hostile  views  about  the  Polish  corridor  have  become  known, 
and  also  his  fury  thereat,  the  result  being  that  he, 
Clemenceau,  President  Wilson,  and  Orlando  now  meet  in 
secret  and  little  oomea  out.  No  decisions  yet  announced, 
but  the  FiviK  li  Press  very  anxious.  Lunched  with  Sir 
John  and  Lady  Lister-Kaye,  the  Max-Mullers,  the  Duchess 
of  Rutland,  and  some  others.  Went  off  early  to  Bridget 
Guthlie'fl  wedding  to  Colonel  James  at  St.  Margaret's, 
Westminster.  A  pretty  wed  ling,  and  the  bride  and  her 
attendants  very  sweet,  including  Violet,  who  was  very 
■eli  po   1    • 'I    and    statuesque.    BfJel    many    people    later 


514  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

at  Lady  Kerry's  house  where  the  reception  was  held. 
Lunched  with  Lady  Bridges,  27th  ;  Mrs.  Ernest  Cunard, 
Madame  Merry  del  Val,  General  Kennedy,  Lady  Furness, 
and  Sir  F.  Swettenham.  Madame  full  of  good  stories. 
Sir  F.  S.  dying  to  have  his  Press  Bureau  closed  as  they  have 
nothing  to  do,  but  the  W.O.  is  preventing  it  on  various 
pretexts,  the  chief  one — utterly  absurd — being  that  com- 
mercial orders  may  come  by  Press  messages  !  Sir  F.  thinks 
that  vested  interests  are  keeping  all  this  huge  organisation 
going  needlessly.  The  P.B.  is  a  small  affair  financially, 
costing  £30,000  a  year,  but  the  rest  of  the  W.O.  machinery 
is  costing  over  three  quarters  of  a  million.  Lady  F.  off  to 
the  Mediterranean  next  month. 

Went  to  Easthampstead  Park,  Saturday  to  Monday,  to 
stay  with  Lady  Downshire,  and  found  Mrs.  Jack  Wilson, 
and  Leo  Trevor  also  there  besides  Lady  D.'s  stepson,  the 
present  Marquess.  Weather  bad,  much  snow.  We  did 
some  walking  and  motoring,  and  looked  over  the  grounds, 
gardens,  and  stables.  Lady  Downshire  has  transformed 
the  interior  of  the  great  house,  which  is  now  in  perfect  order 
and  very  comfortable.  The  park  looking  lovely,  the  air 
good,  and  the  place  very  calm  and  peaceful.  No  papers 
on  Sunday,  no  Bridge,  and  a  very  friendly  party.  We 
all  came  up  to  town  to-day  except  young  Lord  D.,  who  had 
one  of  his  last  days  this  season  with  the  old  Garth. 

Saturday,  April  5.  Met  the  Grand  Duke  Dmitri 
Pavlovitch  at  Lady  Paget 's  one  day  at  lunch.  A  possible 
heir,  if  there  be  an  heir,  to  the  Russian  throne,  if  it  be  ever 
put  up  again.  A  young  man  about  twenty-seven.  His 
father  was  murdered  a  few  months  ago  with  the  other 
Grand  Dukes  at  Petrograd.  He  was  indirectly  concerned 
in  Rasputin's  murder.  He  was  only  exiled  by  the  Tsar 
and  escaped  into  Persia,  where  the  Marlings  took  charge 
of  him.  He  fought  for  us,  and  was  to-day  in  English 
uniform.  He  was  very  critical  of  all  our  failures  to 
help  the  loyal  Russians,  and  of  the  French  doings  at 
Odessa,  where,  he  says,  the  French  black  troops  refused  to 
fight.     The  Lady  Minnie  will  make  him  Tsar  if  any  one 


1919]       ANXIETIES  ABOUT  MURMANSK         515 

can.  Lady  Marling  also  at  lunch  and  very  agreeable. 
Dined  with  Lady  Massereene,  Mrs.  Handford,  and  Lord 
Edward  Gleichen  at  the  Ritz.  Colonel  Frazer  Hunter 
joined  us  later,  and  we  took  the  ladies  home.  Gleichen 
drove  his  own  car  to  the  Ritz,  and  Hunter  declared  that 
he  ran  into  everything  that  he  met  on  the  road.  Violet 
Keppel  introduced  me  to  her  fiance,  Captain  Trefusis,  a 
good-looking  and  well-groomed  young  man.  The  Lionel 
Guests  and  a  party  also  there,  and  Lord  Ludlow  with  a 
large  party  of  people. 

Things  at  Paris  continue  to  drag  dangerously,  and  we 
have  not  yet  reached  the  stage  of  decisions  about  anything. 
L.  G.  and  Wilson  appear  to  be  unable  to  agree  to  the  drastic 
courses  desired  by  the  French,  Poles,  and  Czechs,  while 
the  German  indemnities  become  less  and  less,  and  there 
is  much  anxiety  amongst  all  our  friends.  We  are  also 
anxious  about  our  troops  in  the  Arctic  regions  who  are 
threatened  by  superior  forces,  and  at  Archangel  are  frozen 
in  and  can  neither  be  relieved  nor  reinforced. 

Sunday,  April  13.  A  dullish  week  politically,  and  still 
no  decisions.  Lunched  with  Belle  Herbert  last  Monday; 
her  boys,  Sidney  and  Michael,  Olive,  Lady  Horner,  and 
some  others.  Much  interesting  talk  of  current  events. 
Tuesday  a  large  party  at  Lord  and  Lady  Massereene 's 
for  dinner  ;  the  Midletons,  Lady  de  Trafford,  the  Spanish 
Ambassador  and  Madame  Merry  del  Val,  Mrs.  Handford, 
Sir  G.  Macdonogh,  Lady  Loughborough,  Lord  Dalmeny, 
Lady  Belper,  Colonel  Frazer  Hunter,  Mrs.  Crichton,  Lady 
Bridges,  and  one  or  two  young  men.  Found  myself  next 
to  Lady  de  Trafford  and  Lady  Loughborough,  so  had  an 
agreeable  and  amusing  dinner.  Lady  L.  an  Australian, 
very  dainty  and  charming.  She  married  Rosslyn's  eldest 
son  in  Egypt  two  yeare  ago,  and  has  already  had  two  sons, 
of  whom  she  Bays  thai  she  is  frightened  to  death.  Talked 
Peace  Conference  when    the    ladies    had    left    the   table. 

Macdonogh  •  - i I >    that    it    is   no  good   for  the  soldiers 

to  give  advice  when  b  government  does  not  act  <>n  it. 
Dalmeny'i  news  from  Egypt  oof  very  good.    There  seems 


516  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

no  doubt  that  we  have  given  some  encouragement  to  the 
Egyptian  Nationalists,  and  that  we  are  not  without  blame 
for  having  failed  to  foresee  the  troubles  which  have  broken 
out  there.  I  liked  my  (distant)  cousin,  Lady  Belper,  who 
was  a  Bruce.  Lord  M.  appeals  to  me  more  and  more  as  a 
fine  chivalrous  figure.  I  think  he  would  be  happiest  either 
crusading  or  among  his  books.  Circumstances  have  called 
him  to  share  in  the  labours  of  the  day.  He  has  been  soldier- 
ing all  through  the  war,  and  is  just  back  from  Mesopotamia. 
Wednesday,  lunched  with  Sir  J.  and  Lady  Lister -Kaye 
at  the  Ritz,  and  sat  between  Lady  Carisbrooke  and  Lady 
Colin  Keppel.  Lady  Carisbrooke  an  attractive  character 
of  much  charm  and  dignity.  With  Lady  Keppel  I  had 
much  talk  of  her  Admiral  in  old  Nile  days  and  found  her 
very  pleasant.  Lord  Carisbrooke  also  there  with  Lords 
Chesterfield  and  Curzon ;  an  agreeable  party.  In  the 
evening  Lady  Downshire,  Lords  Scarbrough  and  Peel, 
the  Ernest  Cunards,  and  Baroness  van  Heemstra  dined 
with  me  at  Claridge's.  Judge  Darling  and  Lady  D'Abernon 
were  to  have  come,  but  the  first  was  detained  on  a  Court - 
Martial  Committee,  and  the  latter  returned  too  late  from 
work  at  Godalming.  We  went  on  to  a  music  hall  to 
laugh  with  George  Robey,  who  kept  us  all  well  amused 
for  an  hour  or  two.  The  ladies  so  agreeable  that  I 
could  not  have  the  talk  with  Peel  that  we  had  hoped  to 
arrange. 

On  Thursday  Ireland  and  Kitty  dined  with  me.  He 
was  looking  bigger  and  stronger  than  before  his  experiences 
in  the  East.  Kitty  very  sweet  and  pretty,  and  they  seemed 
very  happy.  Friday  I  lunched  with  Sir  W.  Robertson 
at  the  Cavalry  Club,  and  with  Seymour,  his  A.D.C.  He 
leaves  to  take  up  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Rhine 
next  Friday.  He  is  still  without  instructions,  and  still 
does  not  know  whom  he  will  be  under.  We  talked  of  our 
present  affairs  and  of  the  past.  There  seems  to  be  a  good 
deal  of  camouflage  about  all  the  late  belligerent  Armies. 
Our  squadrons  down  to  sixty  horses,  and  the  artillery  too 
very  weak.     As  to  the  past,  R.  told  me  that  had  it  been 


1919]         L.  G.  ATTACKS  NORTHCLIFFE  517 

ordinary  times  when  he  was  C.I.G.S.  he  might  have 
accommodated  himself  to  the  wiles  of  the  politicians,  but 
he  could  not  accept  any  compromise  when  affairs  were  so 
critical.  A  plan,  for  him,  was  either  right  or  wrong.  The 
country  trusted  him  and  he  could  not  compromise  between 
good  and  evil. 

In  the  evening  talked  with  Sir  Hubert  Gough  just  back 
from  Transcaucasia.  He  thinks  the  Bolshevists  are  be- 
coming milder  and  the  anti-BoLshevists  more  liberal,  with  the 
result ,  as  we  are  not  helping  the  latter  enough,  that  the  two 
may  combine.  This,  he  says,  is  also  the  view  of  the  Russian 
Colonel  Enkel  whom  I  met  in  Italy  in  1916,  who  has  been 
with  the  Volunteer  Army  and  is  on  his  way  round  to  Finland 
to  become  Chief  of  Staff  to  General  Mannermann  command- 
ing the  Finn  Army.  If  Russia  becomes  reunited,  asks 
Enkel,  what  will  she  do  and  where  will  she  go  ?  General 
Briggs  is  with  Denikin,  whose  late  victories  I  now  under- 
stand. The  advance  of  the  Bolshevists  caused  less  alarm 
at  Nikolaieff  than  in  London,  and  many  non-Russians 
remained  without  any  fear  of  them,  while  a  British  officer 
was  hospitably  received  by  them.  Went  in  the  evening 
to  see  the  first  night  of  Romeo  and  Juliet  given  by  Doris 
Keane.  Beautifully  produced  with  fine  scenery  and  dresses. 
Ellen  Terry  as  the  Nurse  and  Leon  Quartermaine  as 
Mercutio  could  not  be  bettered.  Doris  and  Basil  Sydney 
much  taken  to  task  by  the  critics  in  the  name  parts,  and 
Doris  very  dissatisfied  when  we  went  round  to  see  her  after 
the  play.  It  needs  a  lot  of  experience  and  superb  elocution 
to  play  Shakespeare.  But  I  hope  that  in  a  month  or  so 
the  play  will  much  improve.  Even  as  it  is,  it  has  great 
beauties  and  ifl  wonderfully  staged. 

Friday,  April  18.  Lloyd  George  returned  to  the  fold 
Tuesday,  and  made  a  great  speed)  in  the  Commons 
Wednesday.  Be  told  us  little  except  that  he  was  against 
hostilities  with  the  Bolshevists,  bu1  abounded  in  generalities, 
and  made  a  bitter  om  langht  011  Nbrtholiffe,  whom  he  likened 
to  a  grasshopper,  and  on  the  Time*,  which  he  described 
m  a  threepenny  edition  oi  the  Daily  Mail,    Went  to  CSro's, 


5i8  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

Monday,  and  talked  to  several  soldiers  at  the  Y.M.C.A. 
there.  One  negro  soldier  said  that  he  liked  music,  and, 
when  asked  what  he  would  like,  asked  for  Tales  from 
Hoffman. 

Lunched  with  Mrs.  Hall  Walker  at  Sussex  Lodge,  Tuesday. 
It  is  being  done  up  after  the  hospital  time,  and  promises 
to  be  very  nice.  The  big  room  will  be  cut  in  half  again 
as  in  the  time  of  Sir  Francis  Grant,  P.R.A.,  who  used  part 
of  it  as  his  studio.  Mr.  Fisher  of  New  Zealand  and  Mrs. 
Clare  Sheridan  also  there.  Fisher  does  not  think  that 
Australia  will  permit  the  mandatory  system  to  hamper 
her  much  when  she  takes  over  the  German  Colonies  in  the 
Pacific.  Promised  to  go  and  see  Mrs.  Sheridan's  studio 
and  her  sculpture,  of  which  people  speak  so  highly.  In  the 
evening  dined  with  Lady  Massereene  and  Mrs.  Handford 
at  Claridge's.  Tom  Mosley,  M.P.,  was  to  have  joined  us, 
but  was  speaking  in  the  House  and  could  not  get  away. 
We  had  an  amusing  talk  of  men  and  women  and  current 
events,  and  then  went  back  to  Eaton  Place,  where  M. 
Soldatienkoff,  the  Russian,  joined  us  and  we  had  some 
music.  On  Thursday  went  to  Mrs.  Sheridan's  studio 
at  35  St.  John's  Wood  Studios,  Finchley  Road,  and  stayed 
there  to  a  pot -luck  luncheon,  but  a  very  good  one.  The 
studio  full  of  her  work,  which  shows  great  talent  and 
much  variety  of  treatment.  Her  bust  of  Princess  Patricia 
very  successful,  and  so  were  many  other  busts,  statues, 
statuettes,  and  bas-reliefs,  including  a  bronze  H.  G.  Wells 
and  a  noble  head  of  a  Siamese.  The  natural  pose  of  her 
figures  and  their  easy  attitudes  are  particularly  striking. 
She  has  only  been  at  this  work  for  two  years  and  is  already 
self-supporting. 

Monday,  April  28.  During  the  last  ten  days  the  Con- 
ference has  been  making  convulsive  efforts  to  get  ready 
the  Treaty  with  Germany,  and  the  Boches  are  arriving 
at  Versailles  this  week.  At  the  last  minute  a  row  began 
between  President  Wilson  and  the  Italians.  Instead  of 
waiting  for  the  last  negotiations,  Wilson  published  a  sort 
of  encyclical  appealing  to  the  Italian  people  against  their 


1919]  RIOTS  IN  INDIA  AND  EGYPT  519 

Government,  with  the  result  that  Orlando  and  Sonnino 
left  the  Conference  and  arc  received  with  immense  acclaim 
in  Italy,  where  the  people  are  all  for  holding  on  to  Fiume 
and  the  Dalmatian  coast.  There  is  sure  to  be  some  com- 
promise, so  the  anxiety  is  not  great.  A  foolish  act  of  Wilson's. 
Qa  ne  sefait  pas  en.  diplomatie,  and  if  democratic  diplomacy 
has  these  maimers  we  shall  get  into  trouble.  Much  rioting 
and  some  bloodshed  in  Egypt  and  India  caused  by  agitators, 
and  evidently  the  feeling  in  Egypt  is  particularly  bitter. 

Went  down  to  Grenville  for  the  week-end  of  the  19th 
to  22nd  to  stay  with  Miss  Greenwood.  A  very  pleasant 
visit .  Spent  most  of  our  time  on  the  downs  or  in  the  woods, 
now  carpeted  with  spring  flowers.  Returned  Tuesday, 
and  went  to  the  Opera  with  Mrs.  Hall  Walker,  Mrs.  Sheridan, 
and  Mr.  Fisher.  On  Friday  lunched  with  Mrs.  Harry 
Higgins,  and  met  amongst  others  the  Danish  Minister, 
also  Mrs.  Peto,  who  was  looking  very  pretty.  In  the  evening 
to  Lady  Canard's  box  at  the  Opera,  where  I  found  Lord 
and  Lady  Carisbrooke,  Lady  Worthington  (a  pretty  and 
pleasant  woman),  the  Spanish  Duchesse  Machena,  Lady 
Acheson,  Lady  Hamilton,  and  some  men,  including  Sir 
Basil  Zaharofr,  whom  I  was  glad  to  meet.  He  is  the  mystery 
man  of  the  war  to  most  people,  but  not  to  our  Ministers, 
with  whom  he  is  always  in  close  touch.  I  have  heard  his 
name  mentioned  often  abroad  and  with  some  awe.  He 
is  the  largest  shareholder  in  Vickers.  He  supported  the 
Greek  Army  to  the  tune  of  some  millions,  and  has  founded 
several  Chairs  at  our  Universities.  He  is  above  the  middle 
height,  aged  sixty-eight,  with  a  good  head,  and  French  in 
appearance.  He  dislikes  publicity,  and  for  years  his  name 
has  not  been  mentioned  in  the  French  Press.  He  prefers 
to  work  behind  the  scenes  and  get  things  done.  We  had 
a  good  talk  when  the  others  left  the  box  between  the  acts. 

On  the  20th  went  down  to  Beaconsfield  to  slay  with 
Mis.  Astor.     A   party  of   twelve,  including    Mi\  and  Mrs. 

Laugh  1  in  oi  the   Q.S.  Embassy,  Olive  with    I  'a  vid  and  Violet 

Guthrie,  Alice  Astor,  Six  Seymour  Fortesoue,  Oonunandei 

Moore,  U.S.  Navy,  and  Lady  Randolph.     Early  on  Sunday 


520  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

there  came  on  a  very  heavy  snowstorm  with  huge  flakes, 
and  by  evening  many  inches  of  snow  had  fallen,  and  our 
visions  of  golf  and  tennis  vanished.  I  had  a  good  talk 
with  Mr.  Irwin  B.  Laughlin  about  his  experiences  in  London 
as  First  Secretary  and  Chancellor  of  Embassy  during  the 
war.  He  has  almost  broken  down  under  the  strain  which 
fell  heavily  on  him  because  of  Dr.  Page's  frequent  illnesses 
and  absences.  Laughlin  was  usually  at  the  Chancery 
from  9  a.m.  till  past  midnight.  The  period  before  the 
U.S.  came  into  the  war  was  most  trying  to  him.  He  thinks 
that  the  U.S.  could  only  have  come  in  at  the  time  of  the 
sinking  of  the  Lusitania,  and  that  there  was  no  other  good 
cause  for  her  coming  in  until  the  ruthless  LT-boat  war  began. 
The  U.S.,  he  thinks,  did  not  for  long  realise  what  the  war 
meant.  She  therefore  failed  to  make  a  great  protest 
against  the  violation  of  Belgium,  and  did  not  believe  in  the 
Boche  outrages,  thinking  that  such  things  were  not  done. 
Laughlin  thinks  that  we  were  too  slow  and  timid  about  our 
blockade,  and  that  had  we  blacklisted  cotton  earlier  we 
should  have  done  better,  and  the  American  trade  would 
also  have  profited  from  stable  conditions.  I  have  an  idea 
that  we  are  greatly  indebted  to  Laughlin  and  his  colleagues 
at  the  Embassy,  as  well  as  to  Dr.  Page,  for  seeing  things 
more  clearly  than  Washington  in  the  early  days  and  years 
of  the  war.  Laughlin  had  been  at  Berlin  before  the  war, 
and  told  us  many  stories  of  the  Kaiser,  of  whose  moral 
cowardice  he  was  convinced.  His  version  of  the  incident 
when  the  Kaiser  signed  the  declaration  of  war  against 
Russia  was  that  the  Kaiser,  after  signing,  flung  his  pen 
across  the  room  with  a  violent  gesture,  and  hurling  the 
document  at  his  Councillors,  exclaimed :  '  Take  it  and  take 
the  consequences  with  it.' 

From  various  conversations  with  Americans  lately  I 
should  judge  that,  when  President  Wilson  first  came  over, 
volumes  could  not  contain  the  matters  on  which  he  was 
misinformed.  As  one  American  said,  '  He  knew  no  more 
about  European  politics  than  a  Hindu  knows  about  skates.' 

Saturday,  May  3.    Lunched,  Monday,  with  Lady  Cunard. 


1919]  THE  GERMANS  AT  PARIS  521 

The  Carisbrookes  there,  also  the  Ladies  Diana  Manners, 
Acheson,  and  Randolph  Churchill,  Lords  Farquhar  and 
D'Abernon,  and  Wolkoff .  Lady  Acheson  a  clever  and  well- 
informed  lady  of  democratic  inclinations.  Lady  Diana  Mas 
looking  very  fresh  and  brilliant,  and  was  quite  charming. 
Tuesday  I  lunched  with  Sir  Basil  Zaharoff  in  a  private  room 
at  the  Carlton.  A  large  party.  Lord  and  Lady  Farquhar, 
Sir  George  Younger,  the  Duchesse  Machena  and  her  two 
daughters — of  whom  I  found  the  unmarried  one,  Mile. 
de  Bourbon,  very  clever  and  outspoken — Lady  Cunard, 
Mrs.  Walter  Long,  the  Max-Mullers,  and  Sir  Vincent  Caillard, 
who  has  almost  broken  down  from  overwork  but  is  mending 
I  am  glad  to  hope.  A  bouquet  of  wonderful  malmaison 
carnations  for  every  lady.  Found  the  Duchess  very 
quick-witted,  well-informed,  and  agreeable.  Sir  B.  Z. 
told  us  many  interesting  tales.  One  story  of  the  X.  pearls 
diverted  me.  If  pearls  could  only  speak !  Let  us  be 
thankful  that  they  cannot. 

Wednesday  Mrs.  Sheridan  dined  with  me.  Dined  with 
the  Massereenes  on  the  evening  of  Friday  at  the  Ritz  and 
discussed  events  in  Ireland  and  here.  Many  Irish  stories. 
One  of  an  American  leaving  Ireland.  A  fellow  passenger 
asked  him  how  he  liked  it.  The  Yankee  said  that  it  was  a 
horrible  country — cold,  damp,  and  full  of  Papists.  '  Oh  !  ' 
said  the  other  in  a  very  pronounced  brogue,  'you  should 
try  Hell.  It  is  warm,  dry,  and  crammed  full  of  Protestants ! ' 
The  Carisbrookes,  Marconi,  the  Cis  Binghams  and  Mrs. 
Burton,  Mrs.  Lionel  Guest,  and  various  fair  charmers  dining. 

The  political  week  has  been  marked  chiefly  by  Orlando's 
enthusiastic  support  from  the  Italian  Chambers,  and  by 
the  arrival  of  the  German  delegates  at  Versailles.  The 
b  rins  of  the  Peace  are  to  be  presented  to  them  next  week 
in  a  book  of  350  pages.  Orlando  not  yet  back  in  Paris 
from  Rome.  The  Belgian-  muofa  distressed  thai  they 
d<>  not  gfi  the  promise  of  a  large  indemnity  al  onoe,  and 
the  Japanese  nil  dissatisfied  about  tin-  colour  <|ursti<>n  and 
Baao-Chan.  Things  fairly  qniel  in  England,  bni  more  trouble 
Lowing  in  the  Police.    A  row  in  Paris  on  Hay  Day,  and  the 


522  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

mob  dispersed  by  the  soldiers.  Denikin  in  a  baddish  posi- 
tion in  S.E.  Russia,  but  Koltchak  doing  well,  and  Petrograd 
threatened  by  the  Finns.  Archangel  expecting  an  attack. 
Old  Hindenburg  retires  from  the  High  Command  in  Germany. 
Munich  has  been  recaptured  from  the  Spartacists  by  German 
Government  troops.  We  have  only  taken  18,206  recruits 
for  the  Army  from  November  last  to  April  26,  and  66,679 
re-enlisted  men  since  Jan.  1.  In  the  last  month  6625  new 
recruits  and  4200  re-enlisted  men  have  joined. 

Friday,  May  9.  On  Wednesday,  the  fourth  anniversary 
of  the  sinking  of  the  Lusitania,  the  terms  of  Peace  were 
presented  to  the  Boches  at  Versailles.  A  memorable  event. 
Orlando  had  returned  in  time  and  was  present.  Clemenceau 
made  a  short  speech,  after  which  Count  Brockdorff-Rantzau, 
the  German  Minister,  remaining  seated,  made  a  disagreeable 
speech  in  reply,  arrogant  in  manner,  creating  a  deplorable 
impression.  But  he  said  nothing  of  any  real  importance, 
and  promised  to  examine  the  terms  with  goodwill.  These 
terms  are  out  to-day  in  summary  form.  They  are  very 
severe  and  are  better  for  us  than  most  people  expected. 
But  they  reduce  Germany  to  a  powerless  condition  in  which 
a  nation  of  60  to  70  million  people  can  never  be  content 
to  live,  and  I  fail  to  see  how  they  can  be  maintained  on  their 
military  side  if  Germany  joins  the  League  and  claims  equal 
rights  with  the  rest  of  us.  Meanwhile  L.  G.  and  Wilson 
agree  to  submit  to  their  respective  Parliaments  an  engage- 
ment to  support  France  immediately  if  she  be  attacked 
by  Germany  in  an  unprovoked  manner,  and  this  guarantee 
should  greatly  calm  French  opinion.  The  Germans  are  natur- 
ally raising  a  great  outcry  about  the  severity  of  the  terms, 
and  the  chance  of  their  refusing  to  sign  has  to  be  considered. 

Lunched  with  Belle  Herbert  on  the  6th  ;  Sidney  and 
Miohael,  Sir  G.  Clerk,  the  Duchess  of  Roxburghe,  and  Mrs. 
Edwin  Montagu.  Clerk  very  amusing  on  the  subject  of  the 
Foreign  Office  affairs  and  persons  connected  therewith. 

Jack  Stirling  and  I  forgathered  on  the  9th  and  discussed 
the  last  phase  of  the  war.  He  gives  up  command  of  the 
2nd  Scots  Guards  next  week  and  returns  to  the  city,  poor 


1919]  EASTHAMrSTEAD  PARK  523 

cliap.  How  he  will  hate  it  after  five  years  in  France  ! 
Cator,  who  gets  command  of  the  battalion  in  peace,  has 
commanded  a  division  in  war  !  Jack  learnt  from  Germans 
at  Cologne  that  the  four  Boche  divisions  who  attacked  on 
the  Albert  front  a  year  ago  became  stone  cold  and  would 
neither  advance  nor  retreat  nor  move  right  or  left.  Jack 
regards  the  Boche  break  through  at  Armentieres  last  year 
as  a  godsend,  for  they  got  into  the  low  ground  and  many 
of  Prince  Rupprecht's  best  reserves  were  drawn  in  there 
and  wasted,  suffering  immense  losses. 

Saturday,  May  17.  Went  down  to  Easthampstead  Park 
on  the  10th  for  the  week-end.  Jack  Downshire  and  the 
Baroness  van  Heemstra,  besides  Lady  D.  A  glorious 
day.  Sat  for  my  portrait  to  the  two  ladies,  and  then  had 
a  good  game  or  two  of  single  tennis  with  Lady  D.  On 
Sunday  there  came  down  Mr.  Dawson,  who  has  been  em- 
ployed on  the  naval  secret  service  watching  the  Spanish 
coast,  and  told  us  much  about  it.  We  played  lawn  tennis 
all  the  afternoon,  and  walked  in  the  gardens  in  the  morning. 
They  were  beautiful,  full  of  blossom  and  bathed  in  sunlight. 
Miss  Tice,  the  lady  gardener,  has  done  wonders  and  is  a 
remarkable  personality.  Mr.  Curry,  the  agent,  dined 
Sunday  and  was  gloomy  about  agriculture  because  the 
Government  will  not  declare  a  policy.  It  is  not  very  likely 
that  the  farmers  will  benefit  by  a  fixed  high  price  for  wheat 
unless  the  Government  guarantee  it,  as  they  will  not  be  able 
to  sell  at  this  price  when  cheaper  wheat  comes  in  from 
abroad.  If  there  is  no  guarantee  wheat  will  go  out  of 
cultivation  again,  and  all  the  advantage  of  the  additional 
land  laid  down  for  wheat  will  be  lost.  Wages  are  up  to 
36s.  Curry  thinks  that  it  costs  so  much  to  sow  the  grass 
again  that  farmers  will  grow  clover  and  rough  grasses 
and  do  what  they  can  with  it,  and  that  in  time  England 
will  find  nothing  pay  but  dairy  farming.  We  shall  be 
in  the  old  mess  in  case  of  another  war.  Lady  Downshire 
sold  her  chesnut  colt  at  Tattersall's  for  320  guineas.  Not 
bad  for  an  unbacked  and  untried  two-year-old. 

Dim-d  with   Lord    Haldanc  on  the  12)  h  and  wo  discussed 

VOL.  II.  2  M 


524  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

present  and  past  affairs.  We  regretted  that  Lord  French 
had  not  had  his  articles  on  the  war  edited  by  one  of  us. 
They  are  appearing  in  the  Daily  Telegraph  and  doing  him 
harm,  as  there  are  reflections  upon  Lord  K.  and  various 
subordinate  generals.  A  few  excisions  would  have  made  the 
thing  all  right  without  spoiling  the  story,  which  is  fascinat- 
ing. Haldane  thinks  that  our  terms  will  not  be  changed 
and  that  the  Boches  must  sign.  He  says  that  at  the  Cabinet, 
on  Aug.  4  or  5,  1914,  Lord  K.,  Lord  Roberts,  French,  and 
Haig  were  all  for  different  courses  with  regard  to  the  use 
of  the  Expeditionary  Force,  but  French's  view  prevailed. 
Saw  the  M.G.O.,  Sir  W.  Furse,  at  the  War  Office  on  Tuesday, 
13th,  and  went  into  the  question  of  the  new  18-pr.  equip- 
ment with  him.  He  admits  that  the  traversing  is  defective, 
the  weight  greater,  and  that  the  shrapnel  range  is  unchanged, 
but  says  that  a  clock  fuse  will  be  found,  the  traversing  put 
right,  and  that  the  improved  stability  and  increase  of  range 
for  H.E.  shells  from  6200  to  9200  and  eventually  to  11,000 
yards  are  great  advantages  which  cannot  be  despised.  We 
only  had  one  of  these  batteries  in  the  field  just  at  the  end 
of  the  war.  Some  eighty  of  these  guns  have  been  built  by 
Vickers.  The  M.G.O.  has  now  taken  back  design  from 
Munitions. 

A  talk  in  the  afternoon  in  the  stalls  of  Covent  Garden 
Opera  House  with  Lady  Cunard,  Sir  Thomas  Beecham, 
and  Harry  Higgins.  Beecham  has  spent  vast  sums 
for  ten  years  on  re-creating  English  Opera  and  deserves 
immense  credit  for  it.  He  should  be  better  supported, 
but  the  Press  is  not  too  kind  to  him.  He  has  laboriously 
collected  an  English  orchestra  and  aims  at  rivalling  foreign 
national  opera  houses,  an  object  which  all  should  support. 
Last  Saturday  was  the  first  night  of  the  new  Covent  Garden 
series.  Melba  was  a  great  success,  and  Burke,  the  new 
tenor,  had  a  triumph.  We  wondered  how  Melba  could  go 
on  so  long.  Harry  Higgins  said  that  it  was  because  she 
never  took  anything  out  of  herself.  Her  singing  was 
still  a  great  education  even  if  she  had  not  all  her  old  powers. 
Dined   with   Mrs.  Lockett  Agnew  on  the   14th.     General 


1919J        ETONIAN  ARMY  COMMANDERS  525 

Sir  Julian  and  Lady  Byng  there.  Bungo  and  I  discussed 
the  war.  He  has  refused  the  appointment  offered  to  him, 
thinking  that  at  fifty-six  and  after  all  that  has  passed  he 
might  not  be  very  keen  to  prepare  for  the  next  war,  which 
would  l>e  the  only  incentive  in  going  on  at  peace  soldiering. 
He  reckons  his  most  important  day  with  the  3rd  Army 
to  have  been  the  capture  of  Havrincourt  by  the  56th 
Division  in  September  1918.  He  supported  it  quickly 
with  two  other  divisions,  and  the  Bodies  threw  two  of 
the  old  Vionville  divisions  of  their  3rd  and  10th  Corps, 
Brandenburgers  and  Hanoverians,  against  him  with  two 
more  in  reserve.  They  were  well  beaten,  and  the  heart 
was  out  of  the  enemy  afterwards.  We  talked  Eton  and 
thought  how  interesting  it  was  that  three  out  of  the  five 
Army  Commanders  in  France  should  have  been  Etonians, 
and  two  of  them,  Byng  and  Rawly,  3rd  Form  boys.  Cavan, 
commanding  in  Italy,  was  also  an  Etonian.  Byng  says 
that  he  himself  was  the  stupidest  boy  at  Eton  till  Rawly 
arrived,  when  the  latter  was  in  a  class  by  himself.  They 
were  scugs,  and  Plumer  a  camouflaged  scug  too.  We 
agreed  that  the  best  men  matured  late  and  practically 
never  at  school.  Went  to  see  the  Academy,  Wednesday. 
I  admired  some  of  the  Sargents  and  J.  J.  Shannons.  I 
thought  Sargent's  portrait  of  President  Wilson  very  fine. 
It  is  the  face  of  a  thinker.  Boyes's  very  modern  '  Dust 
and  Shade  '  a  striking  picture.  The  old  pre-war  throng 
of  society  folk  at  Burlington  House  was  remarkable  for  its 
b  beenoe. 

Lunched  with  Lady  Massereene,  15th,  and  took  Betty 
with  me.  The  Grand  Duke  Dmitri  Pavlovitch  in  good 
mood  and  both  amusing  and  intelligent.  Lady  Downshire, 
the  Dnfierin  .  Sir  G.  Macdonogh,  and  Mr.  Mosley,  M.P.,also 
then.  Lady  Massereene  lunched  with  me  on  the  1 6th 
at  daridge's,  and  we  laughed  bo  much  over  our  respective 

ties  that  w<-  were  almost  turned  <»ut.  We  had  been 
talking  o"v©t  the  telephone  in  the  morning  and  had  been 
OOnstantly  interrupted  by  a  feminine  voice  ashing  if  either 
of  1.  the  baker.     Lady  M.  held  the  telephone  after 


526  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

we  had  finished,  and  was  again  pestered  to  know  if  she  was 
the  baker.  '  Do  you  want  to  know  who  I  am  ? '  she  asked. 
'  Yes,'  said  the  voice,  '  I  have  been  trying  to  find  out  for 
half  an  hour.'  'Well,'  said  Lady  M.,  '  I  am  the  thirteenth 
wife  of  the  Shah  of  Persia.'  The  interruption  then  ceased. 
The  Germans  shrieking  over  the  Peace  terms.  There 
are  figures  to  show  that  our  total  maritime  losses  during 
the  war  were  7,733,212  tons,  the  ships  lost  numbering  2217. 
America  has  only  lost  eighty  ships  of  341,512  tons.  The 
Austrian  delegates  have  reached  Paris.  Here  are  some 
curious  and  illuminating  figures  given  to  me  by  Brigadier- 
General  Sir  Alfred  Balfour  of  the  movements  at  Port  No.  1, 
Southampton,  Aug.  9,  1914,  to  May  10,  1919.  Totals 
handled  and  daily  averages  were  : — 

Totals  handled.  Daily  average. 


Personnel 

Horses  and  mules  . 
Guns  and  Umbers  . 
Vehicles  (all  sorts)  . 
Parcels  and  mail  bags 
Stores,  ammunition  (tons) 
Ships  handled 


8,034,931  4631 

859,198  495 

14,261  8 

166,639  96 

7,650,068  4409 

3,444,341  1985 

16,918  9 


Saturday,  May  24.  The  Boches  are  busy  assimilating 
our  Peace  terms  and  drafting  many  and  various  and  furious 
answers  and  objections.  We  give  them  an  extra  week's 
law  from  the  22nd.  Germany  protests  she  will  not  sign, 
but  no  one  much  disturbed  by  the  thought.  Operations 
against  the  Bolshevists  are  now  being  more  aided  by  the 
Allies .  Petrograd  is  threatened,  while  Denikin  and  Koltchak 
are  doing  better.  Afghanistan  under  its  new  Amir  is  attack- 
ing our  frontier,  and  Barrett  is  beating  them  on  the  Khaibar 
front,  while  other  troops  are  concentrating  to  teach  them 
a  lesson.  Lunched  with  the  Beresfords  and  Lady  Ebury, 
17th.  In  the  evening  to  the  Opera  with  Lady  Cunard's 
party,  which  included  the  Cromers,  Dufferins,  Duchess  of 
Manchester,  Lady  Ian  Hamilton,  Lady  Randolph,  and  a 
few  more.    Melba  has  put  up  her  price  for  singing  from 


1919]         AN  ADDRESS  ON  THE  PEACE  527 

£200  to  £400  a  night  and  the  opera  people  had  refused 
to  pay  it,  so  we  did  not  hear  her  in  La  Boheme,  but 
the  new  tenor,  Burke,  was  singing  and  should  have  a 
career. 

Monday,  19th,  lunched  with  Sir  Ajdmer  Hunter- Weston, 
and  had  a  good  talk  about  parliamentary  and  political 
matters.  Dined  in  the  evening  with  Lady  Hamilton,  and 
found  General  Childs, — christened  Fido  by  Macready — 
Lady  Cunard,  Mrs.  Keppel,  Mr.  Fisher  the  Minister  for 
Education,  Eddy  Marsh,  the  Countess  Pappcnhcim  who 
has  a  new  name  and  a  new  husband,  Mrs.  Astor,  and  various 
others.  Lunched,  20th,  with  Captain  Jack  (Stanley)  Wilson, 
M.P.,  and  we  compared  our  recollections  of  some  critical 
da3's  in  May  1915  in  France,  and  also  discussed  various 
private  matters.  Hunter-Weston  and  I  dined  with  Comyn- 
Platt  at  the  Windham,  and  we  went  on  to  the  1900  Club, 
where  I  gave  a  short  address  on  the  Peace  terms,  Lord 
Malmesbury  presiding.  After  H.  W.  and  other  members 
had  to  fly  off  for  a  division  on  the  Finance  Bill  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  I  was  asked  a  string  of  questions  and 
answered  them  all. 

On  Wednesday,  21st,  came  the  sad  news  that  Lady  Paget 
had  died  the  previous  day  in  Paris  from  a  sharp  attack  of 
pneumonia,  following  influenza.  Another  old,  true,  and 
lo}ral  friend  passed  away.  A  woman  of  indefatigable 
energy  and  undefeated  spirits  ;  certainly  one  of  the  most 
successful  hostesses  of  these  times,  and  with  the  gift  of 
collecting  round  her  all  the  lions  and  stars  of  the  day,  male 
and  female.  Fond  of  fun  and  laughter,  she  delighted  in 
good  stories,  was  kindness  itself,  and  was  unwearied  in  good 
works,  having,  I  believe,  collected  more  money  for  Anglo- 
American  enterprises  than  any  one  else  alive.  Though 
quite  lame  from  her  fall  in  the  lift  in  Belgrave  Square 
fourteen  yean  ago,  she  refused  to  be  beaten  by  fate  and 
went  on  living  lu-r  old  life  and  remaining  the  centre  of 
a  large  circle  which  constantly  attracted  new  members. 
I  was  due  at  Coombe,  June  7th,  and  now  Coombe,  I 
suppose,   will    bo    no    more.     A   great    loss    to    her    many 


528  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

friends  and  a  hard  blow  to  Sir  Arthur,  following  on  the 
death  of  his  brilliant  soldier  son,  Bertie,  a  little  over  a  year 
ago  only. 

Friday,  May  30.     The  Peace  Conference  drags  on  and  is 
becoming  a  bore.     The  Boches  are  handing  in  a  volume  of 
objections.     Labour  and  Police  troubles  again  threatening 
at  home.     Went  to  HaUingbury  for  the  last  week-end,  and 
had  a  very  pleasant  visit  there.     The  grounds  and  forest 
looking  perfect,  the  azaleas  in  full  bloom,  and  the  wistaria 
in  all  its  glory.     The  rock  and  sunken  gardens  showing  all 
their  old  attractions.    On  Monday  saw  Lieut. -Colonel  Charles 
Nicholl  back  from  the  war  after  five  years  away  from  the 
office,  and  was  very  pleased  to  have  a  talk  with  him.     On 
Tuesday,  27th,  lunched  with  Lord  Esher  at  Brooks's  Club, 
and  we  had  a  good  talk  over  the  past  and  discussed  the 
future.      He  tells  me  that  he  went  to  Paris  in  September 
1914,  at  Lord  K.'s  request,  to  keep  K.  in  touch  with  the 
Army   and   with    political   and   military   affairs    in   Paris. 
Asquith  also  asked  him  to  stay  on  there,  and  then  L.  G., 
though  the  latter  only  by  word  of  mouth.     E.  subsequently 
wrote   constantly  to    Robertson,   and   must   have   been  a 
valuable  source  of  information.     It  is  questionable  when 
E.'s  Memoirs  of  this  time  can  appear,  but  the  story  will 
not  be  complete  until  they  do.     Sir  George  Murray  joined 
us  and  told  us  that  when  the  armament  firms  met  the  War 
Office  people  early  during  the  war  and  all  the  experts  had 
given  their  advice  about  munitions  and  contracts,  he  entered 
a  caveat  that  all  depended  upon  their  getting  labour  and 
raw  materials,  and  that  they  looked  to  the  War  Office  to 
provide  them.     This  was  just  what  was  not,  or  could  not, 
be  done. 

Dined  with  Lord  and  Lady  D'Abernon  at  Foley  House. 
A  large  party  of  twenty,  including  the  Lyttons,  McKennas, 
Granards,  Montagus,  Mrs.  Astor,  Lord  Ribblesdale,  Sir 
Seymour  Fortescue,  Sir  Lionel  Earle,  and  others.  Much 
talk  of  Lord  French's  book  and  revelations.  Lady  Lytton 
a  picture  in  white  and  very  agreeable. 

Attended  the   service   for   Lady   Paget  at   St.   Peter's, 


1919]  A  POPULAK  BRIDE  529 

Eaton  Square.  A  large  attendance  of  her  old  friends.  A 
very  sad  ceremony.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  Church  of  England 
does  not  imitate  more  the  R.C.  ritual  and  prayers  for  the 
dead  with  all  their  impressive  features.  Dined  with  Mrs. 
Greville  the  night  of  the  28th  ;  a  large  party  of  thirty  at  a 
long  and  narrow  table  :  the  Lord  Chief-Justice  and  Lady 
Reading,  the  Marquis  and  Marchioness  of  Cambridge 
(Duke  and  Duchess  of  Teck),  and  their  daughter  Lady 
Victoria,  Lady  Ridley,  the  Douglas  Dawsons,  Maguires, 
and  Felix  Doubledays,  Lady  Sarah  back  from  France, 
George  Keppel  and  Sonia,  the  Aga  Khan,  Arthur  Stanley, 
and  some  others.  A  very  pleasant  dinner,  and  found  my 
neighbour,  Mrs.  Felix  Doubleday,  very  good  company 
and  a  pretty  and  attractive  woman.  She  told  me  much 
about  France  and  America.  A  good  talk  with  Lady  Ridley 
afterwards  :  as  sensible  and  wise  as  ever.  She  gets  back 
into  her  hospital  house  soon.  Mrs.  Ronny  very  well  and 
in  her  old  spirits.  The  Cambridge  ladies  in  the  long  court 
dresses  looking  mid- Victorian,  and  were  rather  plaintive 
on  the  subject.  Lunched  with  Lady  Massereene  on  the 
29th.  Five  lovely  ladies,  including  Mrs.  Peto,  Lady 
Titchfield,  Mrs.  Eric  Chaplin,  and  Mrs.  Burton.  The  Prince 
of  Wales  receives  the  Freedom  of  the  City  and  makes  a  good 
speech. 

Friday,  Mrs.  Greville  lunched  with  me,  and  we  had  a 
pleasant  talk.  I  also  met  Lovat  and  Elles  of  the  Tank 
Corps. 

Monday,  June  2.  Lunched  at  home  and  then  picked 
up  Lady  Massereene  at  the  Ritz,  and  went  on  to  St. 
Margaret's,  Westminster,  to  see  Lady  Diana  Manners 
married  to  Mr.  Duff  Cooper.  A  huge  crowd  outside  and 
in  the  church.  The  bride  a  great  popular  favourite,  and 
richly  Reserves  to  be  for  she  is  a  sweet  lady.  Everybody 
in  London  at  the  wedding.  Went  to  Arlington  Street  after- 
wards and  had  a  talk  to  the  bride,  who  was  most  charm- 
ing to  all  her  old  Eriends.  Eer  letter  to  thank  me  lor  a 
trilling  present  was  a  model  of  what  such  letters  should  be, 
and  quite  touched   me.      Heap.-,  of  lovely   presents.      Dined 


530  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

at  home  after  completing  preparations  for  a  journey  to  the 
Rhine. 

We  were  thrilled  in  the  morning  to  read  that  Mrs.  John 
Astor  had  been  married  quietly  to  Lord  Ribblesdale.  A 
most  suitable  alliance.  There  is  no  one  the  least  like  either 
of  them,  and  I  am  sure  that  they  will  be  very  happy. 

Tuesday,  June  3.  Left  Victoria,  8.50  a.m.,  for  Folkestone. 
Found  Miss  Phyllis  Boyd  in  the  train  on  her  way  to  Paris 
and  the  Riviera  to  join  the  Marlborough-Wimborne  party. 
She  was  very  jolly  and  shared  my  cabin  on  the  boat  as  she  was 
in  very  short  skirts  and  a  light  coat,  and  it  had  suddenly 
turned  very  cold.  M.  Barreda  from  Peru  is  chaperoning  her 
on  from  Boulogne,  and  Charles  de  Noailles  is  to  meet  her,  so 
she  will  be  all  right.  Saw  M.  Cambon  on  board  and  had  a 
talk  with  him  on  the  affairs  of  the  Baroness,  about  which 
he  gave  me  some  advice.  A  fine  crossing.  Boulogne  still 
pretty  busy,  but  to-day  was  a  holiday  and  most  of  our 
people  were  away  from  their  offices.  Walked  on  the  sea 
front.  A  dull  long  wait  till  night,  when  I  took  the  10  p.m. 
express  to  Cologne.  Found  some  beastly  Sauterne,  but 
some  excellent  Chablis  at  Meurice's. 

Wednesday,  June  4.  A  cold  journey  through  the  night 
and  a  cold  day  following.  The  Cologne  Express  or  Staff 
train  is  a  long  one ;  most  of  the  carriages  on  the  hospital 
principle,  with  no  compartments  and  two  tiers  of  beds 
each  side,  but  the  carriage  which  I  was  in  had  compartments 
each  for  one  or  two.  We  were  very  cold  at  night  on  a  hard 
couch  and  one  thin  blanket.  Breakfasted  at  the  Club  at 
Charleroi.  This  and  other  Belgian  towns  seem  almost 
untouched,  and  there  was  little  sign  of  devastation  on  the 
line  we  traversed  by  Namur,  Huy,  and  Herbesthal.  Many 
factories  and  mines  at  work,  but  some  were  silent.  Heaps 
of  rolling  stock,  and  the  railways  in  fair  order.  Belgium 
has  the  greater  part  of  her  young  manhood  still  intact 
and  should  recover  quickly  from  her  sufferings.  Reached 
Cologne,  4.40  p.m.,  and  drove  to  Robertson's  chateau  outside 
the  town  and  near  the  Rhine.  A  well-built  house  in  good 
grounds,  large,  roomy,  spick  and  span,  most  comfortably 


1919]  OUR  ARMY  OF  THE  RHINE  531 

furnished,  and  with  excellent  bathrooms.  I  found  Miss 
Decima  Moore  with  four  of  her  ladies  at  tea  with  the  staff 
and  about  to  play  tennis.  Leo  Maxse  ending  a  visit  to 
G.H.Q.  He  has  been  to  Verdun,  Bonn,  etc.  He  finds 
nobody  thin  in  this  part  of  Germany  except  some  pigs, 
and  declares  that  his  own  pigs  are  thinner.  An  amusing 
talk  at  dinner.  We  have  still  10  divisions  and  the  Cavalry, 
some  200,000  men  in  the  aggregate,  and  they  are  distributed 
over  60  miles  of  front  and  60  of  depth.  There  are  21 
squadrons  of  the  Air  Force,  each  squadron  18  machines. 
No  Boche  troops  in  the  occupied  territory.  We  hold  with 
posts  all  approaches  into  the  rest  of  Germany.  Cologne 
full  of  people,  and  our  men  go  about  quite  unarmed.  The 
Boches  behave  civill}'  and  all  is  peace.  The  rich  aspect 
of  the  Rhineland  plain  is  very  striking.  Towns,  villages, 
factories,  and  countryside  all  speak  of  wealth  and  ease. 
The  story  of  the  Scottish  sergeant  who  would  not  allow 
the  Boche  lady  to  fraternise  with  him  is  a  good  one. 

Thursday,  June  5.  The  Boche  beds  still  a  foot  too  short 
and  of  no  use  to  any  one.  Went  into  Cologne  in  the  morning 
and  visited  our  Headquarters,  some  Clubs,  and  Miss  Decima 
Moore's  Leave  Club.  All  very  well  kept.  Saw  Generals 
Archie  Montgomery,  Haldane,  and  Sillem.  General  Elles 
of  the  Tanks  came  in.  Little  harm  done  here  by  the  British 
long-range  air -bombers.  Leo  Maxse  left  for  home.  In 
the  afternoon  a  long  motor  drive  with  Sir  William.  Went 
first  to  Bonn  and  looked  over  the  town  and  then  for  a  tour 
in  the  hills,  visiting  the  billets  of  our  troops.  They  seem 
very  happy  and  are  living  in  the  houses  of  the  people  and 
get  on  well  with  them.  Generals  Sir  W.  Heneker,  Hugh 
Elles,  and  Harman  dined  at  the  Mess  to-night.  They 
are  agreed  that  this  part  of  Germany  is  full  of  money, 
marvellously  organised,  and  better  electrified  than  any 
country  in  Europe.  Heneker  exacts  from  3000  to  5000 
marks  a  week  in  lines.  The  Municipalities  arc  most 
obedient.     Every  order  given  is  carried  <>nt.     It   is  the 

general  impn— i<>n   that    the    Boohe,    being   disciplined   and 
hard-working,  will  come  to  the  top  again  industrially. 


532  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

Friday,  June  6.  Went  off  with  Sir  William  into  the 
hills  to  the  West  and  inspected  battalions  and  camps  of 
the  Highland  Division.  Lovely  scenery.  The  Camerons, 
Argyll  and  Sutherland  Highlanders,  and  others  in  very 
good  fettle.  They  were  in  fighting  order,  in  which  the 
complete  equipment  should  weigh  64  lb.,  which  is  excessive, 
but  I  doubt  that  they  had  nearly  so  much  to-day.  Many 
battalions  now  under  canvas  for  training.  Their  transport 
was  in  admirable  condition  and  the  horses  and  mules  ex- 
cellent. The  training  limited  to  four  hours  in  the  forenoon, 
and  the  rest  of  the  day  passed  in  recreations  and  sports. 
In  the  afternoon  attended  the  Southern  Division  Race 
Meeting  :  seven  races  and  good  fields.  A  large  crowd 
came.  The  race -course  is  a  Boche  aerodrome  and  the 
grand  stand  is  a  Boche  fort.  The  chap  who  made  it  would 
have  burst  had  he  known  that  its  first  use  would  be  as  a 
stand  for  a  British  Army  Race  Meeting,  and  that  its  for- 
midable obstacles  would  be  decorated  with  flowers  by 
Boche  feminine  hands  for  us.  All  very  well  organised  and 
ordered,  and  very  sporting  races,  steeple  and  flat.  The 
last  race  was  for  mules  ridden  by  soldiers.  There  were 
seventy  starters.  The  mules  galloped  like  stags.  Two 
coaches,  either  begged,  borrowed,  or  commandeered  from 
the  Boches.  They  had  chargers  for  the  teams  and  a  horn 
for  each  coach.  Sandown  redivivus.  In  the  evening 
there  dined  General  Lawford  commanding  the  41st  Division, 
now  the  London  Division,  and  Wilson  the  Chief  Vet.,  besides 
Dillon,  De  Burgh,  and  Lithgow  of  Robertson's  Staff.  I  met 
various  people  at  the  races.  All  are  astonished  at  the 
excellence  of  the  organisation  of  the  country  by  the  Boches, 
and  some  think  that  British  officers  controlling  Boche 
organisation  is  nearly  perfection.  Robertson  told  me  that 
he  had  to  cashier  about  one  officer  a  day  in  confirming 
court-martial  sentences.  The  best  of  our  young  officers 
have  not  remained.  The  Cavalry  are  much  down.  N.C.O.s 
poor,  and  only  one  or  two  Regular  officers  per  battalion. 
In  two  or  three  months  the  Army  of  the  Rhine  is  expected 
to  have  completed  its  reorganisation. 


1919]        OUR  MILITARY  GOVERNMENT  533 

Saturday,  June  7.  Spent  the  morning  with  Sir  William 
inspecting  the  Air  Force,  of  which  we  saw  some  six  or  seven 
squadrons  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine.  Mainly  Bristol 
fighters,  a  two-seated  aeroplane  with  one  270  horse-power 
Rolls-Royce  or  Sunbeam  engine,  and  the  new  Snipes,  a 
one-seater  fast  scout  which  can  do  130  miles  an  hour  at 
10,000  feet.  The  personnel  and  machines  looked  fit  and 
efficient.  All  planes  are  now  fitted  with  wireless  to  com- 
municate with  the  ground,  but  as  yet  they  are  not  able  to 
communicate  from  plane  to  plane,  nor  from  the  ground  to 
planes  at  long  ranges.  In  one  of  the  Boche  aerodromes 
used  by  us  there  is  a  huge  Zeppelin  shed  from  600  to  700 
feet  long  and  120  feet  high,  strongly  but  lightly  made, 
with  concrete  floor  and  doors  which  roll  open.  This  shed 
takes  the  aeroplanes  of  many  of  our  squadrons. 

In  the  afternoon  had  a  long  talk  with  our  Governor  of 
Cologne,  Sir  C.  Fergusson,  and  with  his  G.S.O.l,  Colonel 
Ryan,  formerly  of  the  1st  Army.     Sidney  Clive  is  unfor- 
tunately away.     We  have  about  2,500,000  Bodies  in  our 
area,  of  whom  658,000  in  Cologne.    Fergusson  deals  through 
the    Regierungs    President    with    the    country    generally, 
and   through   the    Ober   Burgermeister   for   Cologne.     The 
Boches  are  satisfied  with  our  presence  because  we  save  them 
from    Labour    and    Revolutionary    disturbances,    and    the 
letters  opened  by  our  Censors  prove  the  fact.     We  have 
had  to  take  over  the  duty  of  suppressing  strikes  because 
they  interfere  with  us  militarily,  but  we  only  give  a  judg- 
ment when  the  ordinary  Courts  of  Arbitration  have  failed. 
If  the  strikers  are  still  naughty  we  deport  their  leaders 
into  the  unoccupied  parts  of  Germany.     At  the  same  time 
we  advise  on  wages  questions,  and  wages  have  gone  up 
26  per  cent,  since  we  came.     The  increased  price  of  food 
and  the  foil  of  the  mark  make  it  hard  for  the  poor  to  get 
along,  as  it  costs  a  working  man  eighty  marks  a  week  to 
live,  and  he  only  gets  some  fifteen  marks  a  day.    The  wages 
rued  by  info  and  ohildren  help  him  out,  but  it  is  a  near 
thing.     The  eight-hour  day  is  oow  general  in  our  area. 
PvrgassonMeoentralisefl  through  the  Divisional  and  espeoi- 


534  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

ally  the  Brigade  Commanders,  who  are  allotted  certain 
areas  and  deal  with  the  Burgermeister  or  group  of  Burger- 
meisters  in  their  area.  The  fines  are  levied  by  order  of 
small  courts  of  military  magistrates.  All  the  German 
Administration  is  willing  and  ready  to  help  us. 

Fergusson  thinks  that  there  are  5  per  cent,  of  rich  men 
in  the  area,  but  that  the  rest  are  far  from  rich  and  only 
make  5000  marks  a  year  at  the  most,  and  that  the  de- 
preciation of  the  currency  makes  the  case  harder.  They 
are  pretty  well  through  their  local  supplies  until  next 
harvest,  but  Hoover's  food  and  our  Army  supplies  help 
out,  while  food  is  coming  from  Holland  and  a  little 
from  other  parts  of  Germany.  The  arrival  of  food 
from  outside  tends  to  release  the  hoarded  stocks  which 
have  been  held  for  a  rise  in  prices.  So  the  gravity  of 
the  food  question  has  been  to  some  extent  overcome, 
but  Cologne  is  not  getting  its  share  of  the  promised 
American  340,000  tons  a  month,  which  is  coming  very 
slowly. 

The  French  and  Belgians  and  Americans  were  before 
us  in  the  field  for  trade.  They  swamped  the  markets  and 
have  taken  millions  of  pounds'  worth  of  orders.  Only 
1  per  cent,  of  the  trade  travellers  were  British  up  to  a  few 
weeks  ago,  and  now  the  figure  is  only  4  per  cent.  We  are 
handicapped  by  the  sentimental  desire  not  to  trade  with 
Germany,  by  our  refusal  up  to  ten  days  ago  to  take  German 
payment  in  marks,  and  by  difficulties  in  transport.  The 
Boches  have  many  things  we  need,  but  only  one  cargo  of 
potash  has  yet  gone  to  England.  There  is  a  tremendous 
demand  for  English  cigarettes,  which  are  fetching  one 
mark  each  in  Germany.  Smuggling  is  rife,  especially  on 
the  Dusseldorf  side. 

The  attempt  of  some  Mainz  people  to  establish  a  Rhenish 
Republic  is  not  well  seen  at  Cologne.  Here  they  might 
accept  it  if  it  meant  economic  independence,  and  inde- 
pendence from  Prussian  rule,  but  they  do  not  wish  to  be 
severed  from  Germany.  Representatives  have  just  left 
for  Versailles  to  negotiate  with  the  Paris  Conference.    We 


1919]  OUR  ARMY  OF  OCCUPATION  535 

are  neutral  in  the  matter.  The  Americans  refuse  to  allow 
the  Mainz  Proclamations  to  be  published  in  their  area.  The 
French  are  busy  and  have  taken  a  feel  here.  The  German 
reply  to  our  economic  demands  has  impressed  Paris.  The 
Germans  seem  ready  to  pay  5000  millions  sterling  at  the 
rate  per  year  of  their  whole  pre-war  income.  This  seems 
to  have  astonished  Paris,  which  did  not  expect  more  than 
2000  million.  The  Germans  say  that  they  must  know 
the  full  debt,  and  that  if  it  be  left  to  depend  on  how  much 
they  earn  there  is  no  inducement  to  them  to  earn  money 
to  pay  to  others.  Trade  is  undoubtedly  reviving  here, 
and  we  pour  much  money  into  the  country  by  our  troops. 
The  Hohe  Strasse  is  as  full  of  our  men  as  of  civilians.  There 
is  very  little  open  fraternising  ;  in  fact,  one  may  say  none. 
The  Germans  say  that  we  are  very  proud,  ignore  them, 
and  look  upon  the  place  as  our  own. 

Fergusson  has  a  large  organisation  most  skilfully  con- 
structed. It  seems  to  be  very  well  run.  Our  G.H.Q. 
consists  of  Sir  William  and  4  A.D.C.s ;  a  Military 
Secretary.  Sir  A.  Montgomery,  C.G.S. ;  2  B.G.G.S.s  for 
O.  and  S.D.  (of  whom  one  was  Brig. -Gen.  G.  F.  Boyd, 
but  he  now  has  the  Midland  Division) ;  4  other  G.S.O.s 
for  O. ;  2  for  S.D. ;  4  for  Training  ;  6  for  Education  ;  and  8 
for  Intelligence,  which  is  under  Colonel  Beddington.  Sillem 
is  D.A.G.  with  a  staff  of  15;  Chichester  D.Q.M.G.  with 
14  officers,  Suppy  and  Transport  under  B.  G.  F.  M.  Wilson 
with  12  officers,  and  other  services  to  match.  Salmond  is 
over  the  Air  Staff.  E.  B.  Hankey  commands  the  Tank 
Group.  The  2nd,  4th,  6th,  9th,  and  10th  Army  Corps 
are  under  Jacob,  Godley,  Haldane,  Braithwaite,  and 
Morland.  The  Cavalry  Division  is  under  Peyton.  The 
divisions  arc  now  : — 


Western 

under  Strickland 

Light 

,,       Whigham 

Northern 

,,      DevereU 

Midland 

„       Boyd  (late  Hull) 

Lowland 

,,       Butler 

536  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

Southern  under  Heneker 

Lancashire  ,,      Jen  d  wine 

Eastern  ,,       Nicholson 

London  ,,       Lawford 

Highland  „       Campbell. 

Each  division  three  infantry  brigades,  each  ten  battalions, 
including  pioneers  and  a  good  force  of  artillery.  There  is 
a  Rotterdam  and  an  Antwerp  Base  Staff  in  the  Command. 
It  has  taken  a  long  time  to  equalise  the  units  and  reorganise 
the  Command,  but  the  work  is  nearly  done  now.  The 
Army  has  elements  of  weakness  due  to  few  old  Regular 
officers,  inferiority  of  the  regimental  officers  who  have 
joined  since  the  war  and  are  staying  on  for  the  greater 
part  because  they  are  not  sure  of  other  employment,  paucity 
of  good  N.C.O.s,  weakness  of  the  cavalry,  and  so  on.  But 
the  higher  Commanders  are  all  excellent,  and  there  is 
nothing  much  in  front  of  us  at  present,  so  the  Army  serves 
its  purpose,  and  also  improves  daily.  The  young  battalions 
are  smart  and  keen.  Musketry  and  artillery  practice  are 
coming  on,  and  there  are  still  a  good  few  of  the  old  fighting 
battalions  as  a  stand-by. 

In  the  evening  there  dined  with  as  General  and  Madame 
Mangin,  three  or  four  other  French  officers,  Sir  C.  Fergusson, 
General  Jacob  whom  I  was  glad  to  meet,  General  Strickland, 
and  a  Mrs.  Harjes,  the  pretty  wife  of  one  of  the  Morgan 
firm  in  Paris.  A  cheery  dinner.  I  found  Madame  Mangin 
pleasant  but  deaf.  The  General  and  I  found  it  trying 
to  say  pretty  things  in  French,  and  then  have  to  repeat 
them  louder  while  all  the  rest  stopped  talking  to  listen. 
General  Mangin  came  in  the  smart  black  tunic  which 
French  generals  wear,  and  with  all  his  decorations.  He 
had  been  with  Marchand  at  Fashoda.  We  fell  to  talking 
of  those  days  and  of  the  old  Anglo-French  Colonial  rivalry, 
thinking  how  much  the  Boche  must  have  had  to  do  with 
it.  After  dinner  General  Mangin  talked  to  me  about  the 
Rhenish  Republic.  He  complained  a  little  that  there 
had  been  no  common  agreement  between  the  Allies,  and  that 


1919]  THE  END  OF  A  CHAPTER  537 

even  this  evening  neither  Sir  W.  nor  Fergusson  had  discussed 
the  subject  with  him.  Mangin  said  that  he  had  received 
no  advice  whatsoever  from  his  own  Government.  His 
aim  certainly  ifl  to  separate  the  whole  Rhineland  from 
Germany,  but  I  objected  that  this  would  not  be  accepted, 
and  that  if  we  could  make  it  economically  independent 
of  Prussia  the  rest  might  come  later.  He  allowed  that  the 
Boche  people  at  Mainz  had  been  indiscreet,  and  he  had 
hauled  them  over  the  coals.  We  should  now  see  what  the 
mission  to  Versailles  would  effect. 

Sunday,  June  8.  Went  to  Church  with  the  General 
and  De  Burgh.  Full  of  troops  with  a  good  sprinkling  of 
British  visitors,  nurses,  V.A.D.s,  etc.  Two  good  young 
padres  who  spoke  up  like  men.  The  pulpit  is  behind  the 
altar,  but  the  padre  did  not  use  it  when  he  preached.  It 
was  covered  by  a  Union  Jack.  The  men  sang  well.  Very 
affecting  to  hear  '  God  save  the  King  '  sung  in  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  we  were  placed.  '  Victorious,  happy, 
and  glorious  '  had  a  new  meaning.  The  end  of  a  very 
moving  chapter  of  history.  We  came  back  over  the 
bridge  of  boats.  Caught  the  2.8  p.m.  train  for  Paris.  A 
piping  hot  journey,  but  the  amenities  of  foreign  travel 
are  returning,  and  we  had  sleeping  berths  and  a  restaurant 
car. 

Monday,  June  9.  Found  my  old  rooms  kept  for  me  at  the 
Ritz,  and  was  lucky,  considering  the  crowds  in  Paris  now.  In 
the  morning  saw  Sir  George  Grahame  at  the  Embassy.  He 
should  go  far  in  diplomacy.  Derby  laid  up  with  a  chill.  Saw 
David  Henderson  at  the  new  M.A.'s  office,  22  Rue  de  l'Elysee. 
He  was  in  plain  clothes  and  has  become  Director-General 
of  the  League  of  the  Red  Cross  Societies  at  Geneva. 

Found  Marshal  Focli  at  home  at  the  Boulevard  des  In valides 
at  li,  and  had  a  good  talk  with  him.  He  was  looking 
much  iii< » t « -  worried  and  careworn  than  when  I  saw  him  last. 
Fighting  with  the  j>o|iticos  is  much  more  wearing  than 
fighting  Boches.  Hie  began  by  asking  me  my  impressions 
of  the  Rhine  front.  I  told  him.  Pooh  lias  got  42  divisions 
in  hie  French  Armies,  and  the  olooooa  retained  are  up  to 


538  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

thirty  years  of  age.  If  there  has  to  be  an  advance  we  are 
to  take  Diisseldorf,  Essen,  and  the  Ruhr  Valley  factories 
and  the  mines  and  foundries.  Foch  does  not  expect  any 
serious  opposition  in  the  West,  but  believes  that  when  the 
Poles  try  to  take  Germanised  Poland  they  will  be  resisted, 
probably  successfully,  and  a  month  after  Peace  is  signed 
we  may  be  all  at  war  again  if  we  let  Poland  shift  for  herself. 
Foch  is  evidently  fed  up  with  the  Peace  Conference.  He 
took  a  strong  line  about  the  Rhine,  which  we  both 
consider  to  be  the  proper  military  frontier,  and  says  that 
now  the  Big  Four  almost  never  consult  him,  and  do  not 
follow  his  advice  when  they  do.  We  went  to  the  map,  and 
agreed,  as  I  have  frequently  written  of  late,  that  the  Rhine 
and  the  Alps  are  the  proper  frontier  for  the  Allies  as  they 
were  for  Rome.  Foch  says  that  he  can  hold  the  Rhine  with 
a  small  force,  and  by  controlling  the  railway  bridges  control 
the  passage,  but  that,  if  the  French  frontier  is  thrown  further 
back,  then  he  cannot  pretend  to  control  the  river  Rhine, 
and  very  large  forces  will  be  needed  to  guard  the  frontier. 
We  British  are  concerned  because  events  have  shown  this 
to  be  our  frontier. 

What  is  the  answer,  I  asked,  to  the  argument  that  if 
we  keep  the  Rhineland  we  create  a  German  Alsace-Lorraine  ? 
Foch  says  that  the  answer  is  that  he  only  wants  to  keep 
his  garrisons  where  they  are,  and  does  not  seek  to  administer 
the  country,  which  can  be  left  as  it  is  now,  under  the  German 
administration.  It  would  be  a  great  soulagement  if  a  small 
number  of  British  troops  could  be  left  there,  and  he  would 
even  be  content  with  a  weak  division.  We  discussed  the 
Rhenish  Republic,  and  Foch  agreed  that  a  province 
economically  independent  of  Prussia  was  as  far  as  we  should 
go  at  present.  He  was  most  sarcastic  about  the  Paris 
Conference,  and  said  that  we  should  have  had  peace  six 
months  ago,  and  that  he  was  getting  tired  of  the  delay  and 
was  thinking  of  resigning.  I  told  him  that  he  could  not  and 
that  it  would  be  almost  a  desertion.  He  admitted  that  he 
could  not  till  peace  was  signed  ;  'Done  je  reste.'  I  asked 
why  he  did  not  leave  Paris  without  beat  of  drum  and 


1919]     WORDS  OR  NATURAL  FRONTIERS       539 

establish  his  headquarters  with  the  Armies,  and  he  told 
me  that  he  thought  of  doing  so. 

We  discussed  the  political  folk,  and  I  asked  what  had 
happened  to  the  Tiger.  '  Oh,'  laughed  Foch,  '  he  has  never 
been  a  tiger,  it  is  only  make-believe.  President  Wilson 
leads  the  Conference  and  does  what  he  likes.  I  may  not 
have  my  Rhine  frontier  because  it  is  against  Wilson's  fine 
principles,  and  so  when  war  comes  again  we  shall  have 
line  principles  in  place  of  a  natural  frontier.'  The  polit  icians 
understood  nothing  of  natural  frontiers,  it  was  all  one  to 
them  how  a  frontier  was  drawn.  Foch  was  sore  and  bitter 
on  this  subject,  and  the  rift  between  him  and  Clemenceau 
is  obviously  serious,  and  a  thousand  pities.  He  can  get 
no  policy  laid  down  for  him  on  any  subject  except  as  regards 
the  Rhine  front,  and  even  about  the  Rhenish  Republic 
no  lead  is  given  to  the  soldiers.  A  very  unsatisfactory 
position. 

In  the  late  afternoon  I  received  a  telephone  invitation 
to  dine  to-night  with  Marshal  Petain,  and  just  had  time  to 
catch  the  train  to  Chantilly,  where  the  Marshal's  car  with 
an  A.D.C.  met  me.  We  went  to  look  at  the  great  carp  in 
the  ditch  of  the  chateau,  picked  up  Major  Benson  of  our 
Mission,  and  found  Petain  in  a  pleasant  well-kept  garden 
of  a  smallish  but  comfortable  house,  where  General  Buat 
and  the  other  half  dozen  members  of  Petain's  Staff  joined 
us  after  the  Marshal  and  I  had  had  a  first  talk  alone  in  the 
garden.  After  dinner  we  adjourned  to  a  terrace  outside, 
the  evening  being  hot,  and  had  a  long  talk,  Buat  leaving 
us  after  the  first  twenty  minutes  or  so.  I  found  Petain 
as  dissatisfied  as  Foch  with  the  interminable  delays  of  the 
Oonferenoe,  and  he  said  that  both  the  country  and  the 
Army  were  growing  nervous  under  the  long  strain.  The 
younger  officers,  who  were  underpaid  with  eight  francs  a 
day  when  all  civilian  salariee  were  being  raised,  threatened 
to  form  a  syndicate.  il<-  was  dissatisfied  himself,  but 
thought  that  it  would  I"-  a  petU  trahison  if  he  left  before 
peace  wai  signed.  KTo  one  really  governed  the  Army  now. 
demenceau   waa   in  the  hand    oi   Rlordaoq  and   Handel, 

VOL.   I!  2» 


540  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

and  the  different  heads  of  the  administration  each  panned 
out  for  themselves.  They  were  well-meaning,  however, 
and  came  to  Petain  for  advice.  Petain  has  all  the  post- 
war regulations  finished.  He  has  also  almost  completed 
a  well  -  documented  history  of  the  operations  of  the 
French  Armies  and  showed  me  a  typed  copy  of  part  of 
it.  It  seems  admirably  done  with  a  clear  and  concise 
account  of  the  operations,  including  explanations  and  a 
reason  for  the  action  taken,  and  then  all  the  chief  orders 
given,  but  no  comments  or  criticisms.  I  told  him  that 
I  wanted  our  people  to  have  a  good  account  of  the  work 
of  the  French  Armies,  and  he  offered  to  put  me  up  for  six 
months  while  I  studied  and  took  all  I  wanted  from  his 
account.  A  good  offer  and  I  must  consider  it.  His  Staff 
have  worked  splendidly  to  get  the  rapport  done  so  quickly. 
It  will  be  finished  in  about  a  fortnight.  The  rapports  by 
Foch,  Joffre,  and  Nivelle  will  complete  the  military  story 
from  the  French  side. 

Petain  says  that  he  has  fifty-one  divisions  in  all,  but  nine 
are  weak.  People  have  tried  to  set  him  up  against  Foch, 
but  he  will  not  lend  himself  to  the  plan.  He  agrees  with 
Foch  and  supports  him.  He  never  goes  to  Paris  unless 
ordered  there,  has  taken  no  part  in  any  banquets  or 
festivities,  and  has  had  no  Deputy  at  his  table  except 
Ministers  who  have  the  right  to  come.  As  he  makes  no 
exceptions,  this  satisfies  everybody.  He  keeps  quiet  and 
to  himself,  so  the  Press  never  mention  his  name.  Clemen- 
ceau  is  now  making  advances  to  him,  but  this  is  because 
Clemenceau  is  at  loggerheads  with  Foch,  so  he  does  not 
respond. 

Foch,  thought  Petain,  was  right  to  have  given  his  military 
opinion  about  the  Rhine,  but  he  should  have  handed  in 
a  written  memorandum  to  disengage  his  responsibility, 
and  if  the  Government  refused  to  take  his  advice  this  was 
a  governmental  decision  which  should  have  been  respected. 
Instead  of  this  Foch  spoke  at  a  meeting  of  the  Conference 
without  being  invited,  and  tried  to  force  acceptance  of  his 
views,    continuing    his    opposition    afterwards.     L.    G.    is 


1919]      SARCASMS  OF  FOCH  AND  PETAIN       541 

reported  to  have  said  that  if  any  British  general  had  done 
the  same  thing  he  would  have  been  dismissed  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  later.  Petain  was  looking  very  fit  and  well. 
The  open  life  campaigning  has  agreed  with  him.  He  rides 
at  6.30  a.m.  daily,  and  is  very  happy  and  contented  in  his 
garden.  The  Bodies  are  said  to  be  preparing  the  elements 
for  the  restoration  of  the  Army  in  all  Army  Corps  regions. 
The  mixed  brigade  in  each  region  is  the  nucleus  of  an  Army 
Corps,  and  there  are  350,000  men  under  arms.  Pet  a  in 
scoffs  at  the  idea  that  the  Bodies  can  be  compelled  to 
reduce  to  100,000  men,  and  lays  stress  on  controlling  the 
output  of  material.  Petain  wants  'at  least'  one  British 
division  left  on  the  Rhine  pour  fair e  acte  de  presence. 

The  Marshal  also  told  me  that  the  new  Civil  Commission 
for  controlling  the  occupied  territories  is  so  arranged  that 
Foch  is  practically  eliminated  from  the  leadership  of  it.  The 
Civilian  Commission  can  be  counted  on  to  spoil  the  soldiers' 
work .  The  feeling  of  t  he  French  soldiers  is  that  the  Conference 
is  spoiling  the  work  of  the  Army,  and  that  it  is  incapable 
of  taking  decisions.  Foch  was  most  amusing  to-day  on 
this  subject.  He  said,  'They  work  like  this,'  and  then 
began,  as  his  custom  is,  to  show  how  they  worked.  He 
began  to  manipulate  an  imaginary  pestle  and  mortar,  working 
the  pestle  round  with  his  hands.  Then  he  stooped  and  looked 
down.  '  It  is  not  made  yet  .  .  .  but  there  is  a  bad  smell 
...  it  gets  on  .  .  .  there  are  poison  gases,'  and  thin  he 
set  to  work  again  with  tli<  pestle  harder  than  ever,  putting 
on  a  most  serious  look.  He  thought  that  they  were  dis- 
sipating the  profits  "I  Mi'-  Allied  victories.  Public  opinion 
ft.1an  begins  to  menace  Clemenceau  largely  on  account  of 
tin-  -nil  Bevere  censorship,  but  also  because  of  certain  per- 
quisition among  Park  Pressmen,  which  have  caused  great 
annoyance.  President  Wilson  La  not  Loved.  One  may 
frln  that  he  is  detested.     Petain  told  me  that  no  one 

controlled  distant  operation  ,  and  that  all  was  chaos  on  this 
ride.      Hi •  and    Foch   both  think  thai    whenever  tin     IWlii's 

out   loud  enough  the   Big    Four  Burrendei  something. 

There  fa  DO  COUiagi  ,  and  linn    arc  DO  decisions. 


542  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

I  lunched  to-day  with  Harold  Nicholson  of  our  Mission. 
He  is  engaged  on  Czech,  Greek,  Bulgarian,  and  other 
matters,  and  is  one  of  the  brightest  of  the  younger  men  in 
our  team.  He  thinks  that  Venizelos  has  made  the  greatest 
reputation  here,  not  only  in  Greek  affairs,  but  in  advising 
on  other  matters.  He  felt,  on  the  whole,  that  L.  G.  was 
doing  well  in  most  dimcultcircumstances,but  that  most  of  the 
older  men  were  played  out  and  that  the  younger  men  should 
take  over  control.  I  hear  from  other  sources  that  L.  G. 
is  tired  out  by  all  his  worries  here.  Willie  Tyrrell  has 
returned  to  London  since  a  month.  Eyre  Crowe  is  doing 
very  well.  There  are  two  ways  of  running  the  Conference, 
one  by  a  process  of  empiricism  and  improvisation,  and  the 
other  by  trusting  to  the  experts.  Our  people  pass  alter- 
nately from  one  to  the  other,  and  often  find  that  their 
experimental  processes  are  unworkable.  Then  all  is  begun 
again.  There  is  an  amusing  story  that  L.  G.  and  Venizelos 
were  discussing  Greek  claims  over  a  map  in  which  the  low 
ground  was  painted  green.  L.  G.  thought  the  green  was 
a  non-Greek  population  and  frequently  tried  to  refute 
Venizelos  by  showing  him  on  the  map  great  blocks  of 
non-Greek  population.  V.  did  not  know  whether  he  stood 
on  his  head  or  his  heels,  but  eventually  discovered  L.  G.'s 
error.  There  have  been  passages  of  absolute  comedy, 
and  not  one  of  the  Big  Four,  except  Orlando,  really  under- 
stands the  questions  that  come  up.  Neither  military,  diplo- 
matic, nor  economic  experts  are  given  a  chance.  Nichol- 
son thought  that  if  the  League  began  with  small  things 
and  were  modest  we  might  do  some  good,  but  all  orthodox 
diplomacy  was  opposed  to  it  while  pretending  not  to  be. 
He  said  that  after  the  League  had  had  an  innings  at  London, 
Washington,  and  then  again  at  Paris,  it  would  move  to 
Geneva  next  spring,  and  then  Germany  might  be  admitted. 
The  Boches  could  not  get  the  conditions  of  the  Peace 
altered,  because  the  Peace  was  one  with  the  Convention, 
and  only  unanimity  could  alter  the  text  of  the  Treaty. 

David  Henderson  told  me  to-day  that  his  successor  as  M.A. 
in  Paris  should  be  a  gentleman,  a  trained  soldier,  and  a 


1919]         LLOYD  GEORGE  AND  POLAND  543 

French  linguist.  We  have  few  men  who  answer  all  these 
requirements,  though  we  have  many  who  could  meet  two 
of  them.  Returned  late  from  Chant  illy  by  train  crammed 
full  of  holiday  makers.  Reached  Paris  about  12.30  a.m. 
The  way  that  Frenchwomen  half  undress  in  a  crowded  train 
is  disconcerting. 

Tuesday,  June  10.  Fixed  up  meetings  with  General 
Pershing  and  M.  Herbette  for  to-morrow.  A  number  of 
pretty  ladies  at  the  Ritz.  Met  Irene  Brown,  Jeanne  de 
Salverte,  Lady  Hadfield,  Lady  Caisson,  and  had  tea  with 
Mrs.  Leeds.  Lady  C.  looking  a  dream  of  English  loveliness. 
The  process  of  having  one's  passport  vised  at  the  Prefecture 
de  Police  now  takes  the  place  of  the  old  rules.  A  surging 
mob  of  people  there,  of  whom  two  thousand  can  be  passed 
a  day.  It  looked  as  if  I  might  be  there  for  hours,  if  not 
days,  but  by  a  great  stroke  of  luck  I  happened  to  ask  my 
way  of  M.  Picquart,  the  chef  de  service,  who  was  returning 
to  work  after  lunch,  and  he  very  kindly  put  my  affair  through 
in  a  few  minutes.  Found  Mrs.  Leeds  scarcely  recovered 
from  her  illness  during  the  winter  and  from  her  anxieties 
during  Lady  Paget 's  fatal  illness  in  her  rooms.  She 
leaves  for  Geneva  to-morrow  and  will  be  back  at  Kenwood 
within  the  fortnight.  She  will  be  leaving  for  America 
later.     Mrs.  Gordon  Bennett  and  Poklevsky  came  in. 

A  good  talk  with  Count  Sobanski  later.  He  told  me  a 
good  story  of  the  Conference.  A  certain  diplomatist  was 
asked  what  he  thought  of  the  Treaty.  He  replied  :  '  Le 
traite  remplit  toutes  lea  conditions  d'une  guerre  juste  et 
durable.'  Sobanski  savage  with  L.  6.,  who  has  been 
odious  about  Poland  and  has  sent  her  no  help  in  her 
need  as  other  Alliee  have  done.  L.  G.  impatient  with 
Poland,  and  says  she  is  never  satisfied.  Sobanski  says 
that  Poland  has  300,000  men,  but  that  her  economic  re- 
habilitation is  not  yet  accomplished.  Be  bco£Eb  at  the 
proposed  referendum  in  Qpper  Silesia,  where  the  Germans 
have  imprisoned  the  leading  Poles,  and  the  German  clergy 
and  Prussian  patrons  will  manipulate  the  ignorant  masses. 
8.  says  thai  L.  <;.  has  made  IffnglAnH  thoroughly  unpopular 


544  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

in  Poland.  He  asked  why  English  public  opinion  did  not 
show  itself.  I  replied  that  the  public  knew  little  of  what 
was  happening  in  Paris,  and  that  until  we  got  the  text  of 
the  Treaty  nothing  could  be  done,  and  then  it  would  be  too 
late. 

He  told  me  that  he  heard  from  fairly  sure  Swiss  sources 
that  the  German  Government  had  asked  Hindenburg 
whether  he  could  beat  the  Poles,  and  that  he  had  replied 
Yes,  provided  that  all  the  present  military  resources  of 
Germany  were  placed  in  his  hands.  But  he  added  that 
in  the  given  case  the  Allies  would  inundate  Germany, 
occupy  Berlin,  and  compel  the  Germans  to  disgorge,  so  he 
failed  to  see  the  utility  of  the  enterprise.  I  told  S.  that  the 
danger  was  not  there,  but  in  the  probably  rapid  demobilisa- 
tion of  the  Allied  Armies  after  the  signature  of  Peace,  and 
in  the  opposition  which  the  Prussians  would  make  to  the 
occupation  of  Polish  Prussia  by  the  Poles.  I  suggested 
that  it  should  be  agreed  that  the  evacuation  should  be  at 
stated  times,  and  the  arrival  of  the  Poles  at  other  stated 
times  later,  and  that  a  mixed  Inter  -  Allied  civil  and 
military  Commission  should  regulate  the  whole  affair. 

Some  one  said  to  me  to-day  that  the  Peace  Conference 
marked  the  demise  of  democracy,  for  its  most  representative 
organ,  the  Parliament  in  each  country,  had  gone  for  nothing 
in  the  whole  of  the  world  work,  and  had  neither  been 
informed  nor  consulted.  Some  other  one  added  that  there 
were  no  real  delegates,  but  only  four  autocratic  de  facto 
chiefs  of  States,  whose  unlimited  powers  had  never  been 
equalled  in  history.  Their  eyes  were  fixed  on  their  own 
internal  policies.  Yet  a  third  observed  that  their  powers 
were  only  equalled  by  their  flippancy,  and  their  flippancy 
by  their  ignorance.  A  story  was  told  that  Clemenceau 
complained  of  the  difficulty  of  presiding  over  L.  G.  and 
Wilson,  since  the  former  imagined  himself  Napoleon,  while 
the  latter  considered  himself  Christ.  Clemenceau,  like 
Talleyrand  of  old,  has  attributed  to  him  all  the  good  stories. 

Dined  in  the  evening  with  Brigadier-General  Charles 
Grant  at  Jemmy  Rothschild's  house,  31  bis  Avenue  du  Bois 


1919]  A  TALK  WITH  PERSHING  545 

de  Boulogne.  Quite  perfect  cooking  and  some  beautiful 
tapestry  and  eighteenth-century  furniture,  besides  an 
unequalled  dinner  service,  of  which  there  are  400  pieces. 
The  acme  of  comfort,  taste,  and  culinary  skill.  We  dis- 
cussed the  times  and  found  that  our  deductions  about  the 
general  situation  concurred,  but  Grant  thinks  that  only 
eighteen  of  the  French  divisions  are  full  up.  We  admitted, 
just  to  each  other,  that  the  ideals  of  the  League  of  Nations 
were  the  only  hope  for  civilisation. 

Wt'lnesday,  June   11.     Busy  at   the  French  F.O.  in  the 
morning. 

Saw  General  Pershing  at  his  house,  73  Rue  de  Varenne, 
later.  He  was  looking  well  and  cheerful.  1  told  him  what 
I  wanted  to  know  about  his  operations  in  order  that  I  might 
be  well  posted  when  I  went  to  America,  and  he  told  me  that 
he  would  give  me  all  he  had  and  could  say  no  more  than 
that.  I  had  been,  he  said,  very  helpful,  and  my  articles 
had  been  widely  read  in  the  U.S.  He  may  be  breaking 
up  his  G.H.Q.  at  Chaumont  by  July  15,  but  will  have  all 
necessary  papers  sent  to  me.  He  thinks  that  American 
politics  have  much  to  do  with  attacks  on  him  and  his  Staff, 
but,  on  the  whole,  doubts  whether  the  Republicans  will 
take  up  a  strong  line  of  criticism  against  the  U.S.  Army 
during  the  election  campaign,  as  they  will  not  care  to  decry 
a  great  national  work  or  place  themselves  in  opposition  to 
the  war  in  any  way.  He  tells  me,  a  yropos  of  not  keeping 
up  his  divisions  who  fought  alongside  of  us,  that  he  was  so 
short  of  drafts  that  he  had  to  break  up  entirely  ten  of  his 
divisions  which  were  in  France  waiting  to  be  trained.  He 
was  Bhort  of  many  things,  but  did  not  consider  it  fair  to 
blame  the  administration,  who  were  doing  their  best.  He 
told  me  that  on  no  single  occasion  did  the  Government  at 
Washington  Bend  him  any  plans  of  campaign,  surest  ions, 
or  criticisms,  and  thai  he  had  told  the  President  that  this 
was  a  record  and  that  n<>  ('.in  C.  in  the  field  was  ever  left 
so  bee  a  hand.  Be  had  been  congratulated  by  his  Brenoh 
and  British  colleagues  upon  being  bo  Ear  away  iY<>ni  home  ! 
jl«  agreed  with  me  about  the  Btrengtfa  and  organisation  of 


546  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

Germany,  and  felt  as  sure  as  I  did  that  she  would  soon 
revive  and  attempt  to  recover  her  losses.  He  was  as  im- 
pressed as  I  was  by  the  fact  that  there  was  no  sign  of  war 
in  Germany,  that  the  whole  machine  of  Government 
worked  smoothly,  and  that  the  towns,  fields,  and  factories 
were  just  as  usual. 

Pershing  favours  the  ideals  behind  the  League  of  Nations, 
and  thinks  that  even  if  the  present  plan  is  more  or  less 
scrapped  we  may  have  a  better  substituted.  He  thinks 
that  the  future  of  civilisation  rests  upon  the  co-operation  of 
England  and  America,  since  the  whole  affair  rests  on  con- 
fidence, and  those  two  countries,  alone  in  the  world,  have 
confidence  in  each  other. 

Pershing  said  that  in  his  opinion  the  re -insurance  Treaty 
of  France,  England,  and  America  all  held  together,  and 
that  the  thing  dropped  if  one  fell  out  of  the  line.  He 
gave  me  his  views  about  France.  He  admitted  that 
he  had  not  been  in  favour  of  the  Armistice.  He 
trained  his  troops  hard  for  three  months  afterwards, 
and  would  have  had  a  fine  Army  by  the  spring.  I  agreed, 
and  said  that  if  his  present  critics  would  remember  that  we 
all  were,  to  the  last,  playing  up  to  April  1919  as  the  date  of 
the  decisive  offensive,  Pershing's  actions  during  the  war 
would  be  better  comprehended.  Affairs  had  gone  better 
and  faster  in  the  last  campaign  than  any  of  us,  even  Foch, 
had  expected. 

Charles  Grant,  by  the  way,  suggested  last  night  that  Foch 
was  the  most  secretive  of  men  about  his  plans,  while  always 
protesting  that  he  had  none.  Grant  thought  that  this  was 
not  correct,  and  mentioned  the  meeting  of  the  Allied  generals 
on  July  24  last  year  when  the  operations  of  the  two  following 
months  were  sketched  out  by  Foch.  Lunched  at  the  Chateau 
Madrid  in  the  Bois  under  spreading  chestnuts .  A  delightfully 
cool  place  for  lunching  in  this  hot  weather.  The  tables 
under  the  trees,  excellent  cooking,  and  a  good  string  band. 
The  bust  of  Francois  i.'s  lady  still  looks  out  for  his  return, 
and  the  old  oak  which  the  king  planted  is  just  outside  the 
railings  of  the  chateau.     Returned  to  the  F.O.  at  four  to 


1919]  A  STORMY  CROSSING  547 

Bee  M.  Herbette.  Saw  the  Countess  Jeanne  de  Salverte. 
She  gave  me  a  photograph  of  herself  with  her  lion  cub. 
Only  one  goldfish  left  in  the  celebrated  bowl. 

Thursday,  June  12.  Left  Paris  midday  and  arrived 
London  10.20  p.m.,  after  a  very  stormy  crossing  of  the 
Channel,  where  it  was  blowing  great  guns.  One  roll  took 
everybody  across  the  deck, — chairs,  people,  and  baggage — 
but  happily  only  some  of  the  bags  went  overboard.  The 
ship  took  quite  an  appreciable  time  to  right  herself,  and 
I  was  told  that  one  of  the  water-ballast  tanks  had  not  been 
filled.  We  all  arrived  rather  woebegone.  In  the  Pullman 
met  Dr.  Sidney  Beauchamp,  who  has  been  doing  doctor  to 
the  Conference  and  was  as  pleasant  as  ever.  He  attributes 
to  Countess  Benckendorff  the  reply  to  the  question  how 
long  the  Conference  would  last — '  Neuf  mois  pour  sur, 
puisque  le  plus  ceUebre  accoucheur  anglais  y  est/ 

My  neighbour  was  Sir  George  Foster,  the  Canadian 
Minister,  and  we  talked  most  of  the  way  to  London.  A 
man  of  perspicacity  and  broad  serious  views  whom  I  liked 
very  much.  He  thinks  that  we  shall  have  all  Canada  with 
us  in  drawing  close  to  America,  and  he  shares  Pershing's 
views  about  France.  We  had  an  interesting  talk  on  the 
Roman  Catholics  in  Canada  and  upon  finance. 

Saturday,  June  28.  This  day  the  Treaty  of  Peace  with 
Germany  was  signed  at  Versailles. 


NAME  INDEX 


Abkbcobn,  Duchess  of,  ii.  321. 

Adi.'-. .ti.  Visoountess,  ii.  519,  521. 

in.  M iss  Betty,  ii.  366,  .">l'."i. 
A. lam.  Mr.,  i.  220,252. 
Addison.  Kt.   Eon.  ('..  M.P.,  L  65, 
606,  619  :    ii.  1. 

.  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  ii.  71. 

Khan,    H.H.    Sir    Sultan    Ma- 
hom<  .1   Shah,  G.C.S.I.,  G.C.I.E., 
i.  67-9,  7".  76,  80,  85,  86,  95,  96, 
98,  218.  252  ;    ii.  529. 
\v.  Captain,  i.  526. 

.  Mr.  Colin,  ii.  48,  253,  319.  323, 

607. 

.  Mr.  W.  Lookett,  L  55,  92.  129, 

145,  290,  300,  339,  357,  375,  381, 
400.  431,  435,  441,  177.  574,  575, 
•  Hi}.  620  :  ii.  48,  63,  197,  230,  231. 

,  Mrs.  Lookett,  i.  290,  300,  574; 

ii.  231,  323,  341,  524. 
Alba,  Duke  of,  L  369,  370. 
All-  rtini.  Signor,  ii.  428. 
All.,  rv.  Mr.  Wyndham,  i.  467. 
Albreochi,  Colonel,  i.  238.  239. 
Alderson,    Lieut. -Gen.    Sir    Edwin, 

K.ci;..  i.  304 
Alenoon,  Colonel  d\  i.  499,  563. 
Ai-  ..it  i.  Ban  m,  i.  360. 

.  360,  370. 

Alexander,  Brig. -Gen.  E.  \\ ..  \  *  ,, 

C.M.G.,  i.  60. 
Alexandra,  B.M.  Queen,  L  t>8,  80; 
ii.  213. 

i«l.   i.    7s.   7'.".    244, 
346,  350,  363,  367,  372,  387,  399, 

142,   I  13,   196,  ■" 504,  51  I 

■    n.  Lord,  i.  89. 
.  Lady,  L  89  ;    ii.  258 
Allenb) .     I  ield   Ma                  oounl 
II.  H.c  A    B  ,G  I    M  .<:..!.  268  70, 
..7:;.  677, 
-.  810,  '.i"  ».,  61  i.  615  :   ii  I  I. 
O,  57,  61,  66,    i  i".    1  15  17.  128, 
129,  133,  13S    i  i".  i  15,  I  W,  158  6, 
161,  168,  17"    179,  180   236,  241 
249,  268,  267,  28  •■  294 
409,  412,  41  i.  n...  166,  189,  170, 
471,  17:'    I    -  '."7.  I 


C.B. 


245. 

182, 


Allendale,  Lady,  L  299. 
Ah tn irp,  \  isoount,  ii.  322. 
Alvord,  Brig.  I  len.  B.,  ii.  B6. 
Amery,  Lieut.-Col.  L.  C.  M.S..M.P., 

i.  419;    ii.  219. 
Ames,  Colonel  Oswald,  i.  107. 
Amir   of    Afghanistan,    the,  ii.   62, 

115,  526. 
Anoaater,  Earl  of,  L  83,  98,  1 16,  122  ; 

ii.  476,  479. 
,  Countess  of,  1.  83,  98,  1 1 8,  I  22, 

409  ;  ii.  467,    176,  479. 
Anderson,    Lieut. -Gen.    Sir    C.    A., 

K.C.B.,  K.C.I.E.,  ii.  112. 
,   Major-Gen.   W.   H., 

531  ;    ii.  365. 

,  W.  C,  M.P.,  ii.  242. 

Andre,  Mme.  von,  i.  552. 
Anglesey,  Marquess  of,  ii. 
,  Marchioness   of,    i.    182,  508 

ii.   245. 
Annaly,    Colonel    Lord,    G.C.V.O., 

D.L.,  i.  397. 
Annealey,  Countess,  i.  375,  604.  612  ; 

ii.  55,  267. 
Ansaldo's,  ii.  435,  438. 
Anthoine,   General,   ii.    10,   80,   99, 

223,  378. 
Antrim,  Countess  of,  i.  47H. 
Aosta.     II.R.H.     tho    Duke    of,     i. 

240  n.  ;    ii.  426,  428. 
Apostol,  M.  Mouravieff,  ii.  130,  319. 

,  Mme.  Mouravieff,  ii.  130. 

\|,|,lm.  Colonel,  ii.  :iss.  392. 
Argyll,  Duke  of,  i.  HO. 
Vrkwright,  Mrs.  Esme,  i.  503,  578. 
\ 1 1 1 ii 1 1.  (  teneral  Sixt  von,  ii  387. 
Armstrong,  Mr.,  ii.  182. 

,  < ' mander     Sir     ( ioorgo     Iv, 

Bt  .  <  .M.G.,  R.N.,  L  I  15. 
Arnold  Porster,  Major  F.  \  .  I  ».S.O., 

ii.  111. 
AiiMii.  ( lounteM  of,  i.  •t,,">.  3<>7. 
Arthur,    Sir    <■  I        \  .     Bt., 

M.V.O.,  i.  107,  581  ;   ii  196,  272, 

285. 

,  Lady,  L  107. 

Ai /.  Gem  rul  von,  li 


550 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Ashburton,  Lady,  i.  205. 

Ashley,    Lieut. -Col.    Wilfrid    Wm, 
M.P.,  ii.   139. 

Ashmead-Bartlett,  Mr.  Ellis,  i.  57, 
75. 

Ashmore,    Maj.-Gen.    E.    B.,    C.B., 
C.M.G.,  M.V.O.,  ii.  334,  336,  497. 

'  Ashworth,  Mr.,'  ii.  205. 

Asquith,  Lady  Cynthia,  i.  567  ;    ii. 
497. 

■ ,  Miss    Elizabeth,    i.    508  ;     ii. 

283,  310,  497. 

,  Rt.  Hon.  Herbert  H.,  K.C., 

M.P.,  etc.,  i.  20,  26,  38,  39,  43,  51, 
54,  62-4,  77,  79,  84,  85,  90,  91, 
95-7,  99-103,  109,  128,  135,  145, 
152,  178-81,  188,  191,  205,  207, 
215,  285,  286,  301,  312,  335,  336, 
339,  341,  345,  351,  353,  359,  360, 
361,  373,  378,  386,  388,  403,  404, 
419,  421,  450,  451,  461,  508,  566, 
591,  617  ;  ii.  52,  53,  138,  228, 
241,  242,  247-51,  297,  298,  315, 
322,  506,  528. 

,  Lieutenant  Herbert,  i.  379. 

,  Raymond,  i.  339. 

Mrs.   i.  339. 

',  Mrs.,'  i.    145,    188,    286,    335, 

399,  508;  ii.  6,  233,  243,  315, 
322. 

,  Miss,  i.  471  ;   ii.  6. 

Asseca,    Viscount,   i.    293,  343  ;   ii. 
253,  489. 

Asser,  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  J.  J.,  K.C.M.G., 
K.C.V.O.,  C.B.,  i.  216  ;   ii.  508. 

Astanova,  Mme.  Seraphine,  ii.  345. 

Aston,  Sir  George,  K.C.B.,  ii.  304. 

Astor,  Miss  Alice,  ii.  519. 

,  Major  the  Hon.  J.,  ii.  473. 

,    Mrs.     (now    Lady    Ribbles- 

dale),  i.  54,  57,  59,  65,  68,  69, 
76,  80,  84-6,  140,  141,  178,  193, 
194,  203,  275,  289,  310,  312,  336, 
375,  389,  413,  436,  437,  461,  463, 
473,  487,  567,  574,  575,  578,  587, 
612,  614  ;  ii.  86,  97,  140,  143,  144, 
178,  201,  232,  237,  282,  294,  299, 
306,  316,  324,  334,  340,  356,  470, 
478,  501,  511,  512,  519,  527,  528, 
530. 

Athlone,  Earl  of,  G.C.B.,  G.C.V.O., 
C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  i.  33,  91,  174-6. 

Athlumney,  Lieut.-Col.  Lord,  i.  72, 
325. 

Atholl,  Brig. -General  the  Duke  of, 
K.T.,  C.B.,  D.S.O.,  M.V.O.,  i.  382. 

Atkinson,  Mr.  Edward  Tindal,  K.C., 
ii.  230,  231,  233. 

Aubriot,  M.,  ii.  382. 


Auerstadt,  Davoust,  Due  d',  i.  159, 

163. 
Austria,  Emperor  Karl  of,  ii.  211. 

,  Empress  of,  ii.  210,  220. 

Avaresco,  General,  i.  326,  335. 

Ayard,  Mile.,  ii.  79. 

Aylmer,     Lieut. -Gen.     Sir     F.     J., 

V.C.,  K.C.B.,  i.  120,  135,  187. 

Babestgton,  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  J.  M., 
K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  ii.  202,  469. 

Bacon,  Vice-Adm.  Sir  R.  H.  S., 
K.C.B.,  K.C.V.O.,  D.S.O.,  i.  293, 
561  ;   ii.  39,  42,  290  n. 

,  Major  Robert,  ii.  87,  91,  93, 

96,  334,  337,  338,  363,  460. 

Baden,  Prince  Max  of,  ii.  457,  464, 
480. 

Badoglio,  General,  ii.  416,  422,  423, 
425,  426,  428,  429,  437. 

Bagot,  Lady,  i.  410  ;   ii.  194,  251. 

Baird,  Major  John  L.,  C.M.G., 
D.S.O.,  M.P.,  etc.,  i.  115,  174, 
175  ;    ii.  283. 

,  Lady  Ethel,  i.  463. 

Baker,  Mr.,  U.S.  War  Secretary, 
ii.  303,  397. 

,  Major  the  Rt.  Hon.  H.  T.,  i. 

337. 

Baker-Carr,  Lt.-Col.  C.  D'A.  B.  S., 
C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  201. 

,  Major  R.  G.,  i.  282. 

Balfour,  Brig. -Gen.  Sir  Alfred, 
K.B.E.,  C.B.,  ii.  259,  526. 

,  Mr.  Arthur,  J.P.,  i.  347. 

,  Rt.      Hon.      Arthur     James, 

O.M.,  M.P.,  etc.,  i.  1,  3,  54,  62, 
80,  92,  93,  96,  101,  102,  119,  132, 
133,  142,  181,  183,  184,  185,  191, 
195,  211,  212,  283,  311,  343,  344, 
360,  361,  393-7,  422,  435,  437, 
438,  441,  451,  462,  477,  495,  496, 
581,  582,  616  ;  ii.  22,  25,  52-4, 
60,  78,  108,  129,  143,  147,  219, 
250,  260,  272,  293,  298,  313,  387, 
408. 

,  Miss  Alice,  i.  132,  393. 

,  Rt.  Hon.  Gerald  Wm.,  i.  393. 

Balfourier,  General,  i.  157. 

Banbury,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Frederick 
G.,  i.  471. 

Baratoff,  General,  i.  207,  497. 

Barbarich,  Colonel  Count,  i.  223, 
224,  226,  229,  231,  238. 

Bard,  General,  i.  169. 

Bardac,  M.,  i.  311,  370,  468,  566, 
575,  604,  605  ;  ii.  2,  130,  177,  306. 

Baring,  Major  Hon.  Maurice,  O.B.E., 
i.  538. 


NAME  INDEX 


55i 


Baring's,  ii.  00. 

Barioni,  General,  i.  2H. 

Bark.  M.,  i.  483. 

Barlow,  Mr.  James  A.  X..  i.  362. 

Haines,   Kt.  Hon.  George  N.,  M.P. 

i.  102,  592  ;   ii.  877. 
Barreda.  M.,  ii.  530. 
Barrett,     Lieut. -Gen.     Sir     A.     A., 

G.C.B..  etc.,  ii.  111.  112.  526. 
Barrio.  Sir  James  ML,  Bt.,  1.  452 -3. 
Barrow,  General  Sir  E.  G.,  G.C.B., 
<    I    8.I.,  i.  197.  329. 

,   Maj.-den.   Sir   George  de  S.. 

K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G..  i.  613. 
Barrv.  Colonels.  1...  C.M.G.,  C.B.E., 

D.S.O.,  M.Y  ()..  i.  27.  127.  138. 
Bartholomew',     Brig. -Gen.     \Y.     II.. 

C.B.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.G..  ii.  110. 
Barton.  Mrs.,  i.  205.  2  In.  211. 
Bassett.  Roy,  ii.  397. 
Bate.  Mrs.,  ii.  513. 
Bathurst,  Earl.  C.M.G.,  etc..  ii.  235. 

,  Countess,  ii.  22K,  235. 

.Captain    Sir    Charles,    M.P., 

1.  60. 
Bat  ten  berg.  Admiral  Prince  Louis  of, 

latex  Marquees  of  ftfilford  Haven, 

G.C.B.,  a.CV.O.,  K.C.M.G.,  etc., 

i.  14.  19,  40,  209. 
,  Prince  George  of,  Lieut.  R.N., 

later  Earl  of  Medina,  K.C.V.O., 

i.  195;    ii.  21.  22. 
Beale-Browne,  Brig.-Gen.  D.  J.  E., 

D.S.O.,  ii.  293. 
Beam.  Admiral  of  the  Fleet  Earl, 

Q.C.B.,    O.M.,    Q.C.V.O.,   etc.,   i. 

280,  311,  394  ;    ii.    11-20,  30,  39, 

44.  48,  189,  251.  466. 

,  Countess,  ii.  13,  251. 

Beeuohamp,  Dr.  Sidney,  ii.  547. 
1  (eanfoii .  Duoheea  of.  i.  600. 
Beeverbrook,  Lord.  i.  371,  412,  420  ; 

h.  241.  278,  2s!!. 

Bebel,  Herr,  ii  180. 
Beck,  Mr..  1.  279. 
Beokett,   Son.  (William)    Qer 
Mr.,  and  Lad]  Marjorie,  ii.  141, 

142. 

,  Mr-.  Ralph,  i.  391. 

,  Hon.  Rupert,  1.  152. 

,  H  in    Ifi      Rupert,  1.  73.  ion, 

106,    12--.    162  ;    11.  2.  :;.  60, 
Ml.  54 1 1 . 
Beddington,  I  olonel  E.  II.,  C.M.G., 

D  bTO  .  M .< '..  11.  •"■ 
Bedford,  Du<  L  2".. 

IV.-rlmm.     Sir      I  l.o   .,      Bt.,     L     826, 

15,  524. 

Inn.  Mr.  Max  and  Mr.-..,n 


Belaieff.  General,  i.  252. 
Belgians.    H.M.   the   King  of  the.  i. 
33.  80,  L25,  174-8,  183,  233,  510  j 
ii.  219,  464,  465,  486. 

,  H.M.  the  Queen  of  the.  i.  33, 

88-91,   125,  174.   17:..  L83,  272  ;   ii. 
219. 
Belin.  General,  ii.  359. 
Bell,  Colonel,  i.  166. 

.  Mr.,  i.  369. 

I'  -II  ins.  Commander  Carlvon,  R.N 

M.I'.,  i.    167. 
Belloo,  Mr.  Hilairo,  ii.  243. 
Bellville,  Mrs.,  i.  389.  572. 
Helow,    (ieneral    Otto    von,    ii.    169 

224,  3(i7. 
Belper,  Lady,  ii.  515,  516. 
Benokendorff,  Count,  i.  US,  ,(4,  399, 
401.  433.  440. 

,  Countess,  ii.  547. 

Benodict  x\\.  His  Holiness  Pope,  ii. 
54,   372,  402,  432,  430,  442,  447, 
450,  451. 
Bennett,  Mr.  Arnold,  ii.  190. 

,  Mr.  Gordon,  i.  476. 

,  Mrs.,  ii.  543. 

Benson,  Mr.  E.  F.,  i.  378,  575  ;    ii 
243. 

,  Major,  ii.  539. 

,  Mr.,  i.   1  16. 

Bentinok,    Mrs.  W.  G.  Cavendish-. 
i.    408,   471,    587;    ii.    315,    322, 
326-8. 
Berchtold,  Count,  i.  18  ;    ii.  492. 
Berenger,  M..  i.  557  ;  ii.  207. 
Berenson,    Mr.     Bernhard,    ii.    343 

354 
Beresford,  Admiral  Lord  (Charles 
Wm.  do  la  Poer),  G.C.B.,  G.C.V.O., 
i.  57,  58,  75,  70.  85,  102,  103,  395, 
I"".  128,  lis.  .-,07.  507,  613;  ii. 
128,  200.  261,  285,  304,  405,  480. 

,  Ladv,   i.    57,    89,    75,   76,   85, 

102,  103,  400,  127,  lis,  463,  473, 
507,  613  ;    ii.    128,  200,  201,  285, 
304,  32  1.  465,  480. 
Bergoinini,  Signor,  ii.    1  16. 

Bernex ;.  Lord.  ii.  507. 
Bernstorff,  Count,  i.   Ill,  449. 

.    Mr.,   11.   97. 

Bexi  haul .  <  ieneral,  iL  279. 
Berthelot,  M.  Philippe,  i.  170,  173, 

174,  201,  2  17.  2  is,  254  ;  ii.  385. 
386,  396,  102,  ■ 
Bertie,  Viscount,  of  Thame,  Q.C.B., 
1  ■  I  ii.1 ...  ■  bo.,  1-  59,  166,  169, 
I  17,  575;  ii.  21.  89,  77.  813,  409, 
no 

Bertiet  de  Bauvigny,  Commandant, 


552 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


i.  1,  143,  144,  151,  153,  183,  188, 

314,  316,  317,  357,  358,  370,  387, 

408,  463,  551. 
Bertotti,  General,  i.  241. 
Beseler,   von,   Governor-General,   i. 

191,  136,  138. 
Besobrazoff,  General,  i.  79. 
Bethell,  Lieut. -Col.  A.  B.,  ii.  87. 

,  Capt.  the  Hon.  Richard,  i.  60. 

Bethmann    Hollweg,  Herr   von,    i. 

619  ;    ii.  280. 
Bethune,    Lieut.-Gen.    Sir    E.    C, 

K.C.B.,  C.V.O.,  i.  113. 
Beynon,   Maj.-Gen.   Sir  W.    G.   L., 

K.C.I.E.,  etc.,  ii.  111. 
Bibesco,  Prince,  ii.  319,  497. 

,  Princess,  i.  325,  326. 

Bibliokoff,  M.,  ii.  383. 

Biddle,  General,  ii.  94,  337. 

Bidou,  M.,  i.  220. 

Bigham,  Lieut.-Col.  the  Hon.  C.  C, 

C.M.G.,  ii.  385,  412. 
Bignon,  M.,  ii.  356. 
Billotte,  General,  i.  156. 
Bingham,   Maj.-Gen.   the  Hon.   Sir 

Cecil  E.,  K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  C.V.O., 

i.   28,   95,   203  ;    ii.  55,  184,    185, 

319,  321,  495,  500,  521. 
,  Lady,  i.  57,  64,  68,  75,  95,  98, 

114,  195,  203,  343,  345,  413;    ii. 

267,  282,  319,  321,  339,  438,  469, 

471,  491,  502,  521. 

,  Denis,  ii.  501. 

,  Maj.-Gen.  the  Hon.  Sir  Francis, 

K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  i.  362. 
Birch,      Lieut.  -  Gen.       Sir      Noel, 

K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  ii.   363-5,  460-2. 
Birdwood,     General     Sir     W.     R., 

G.C.M.G.,K.C.B.,K.C.S.I.,C.I.E., 

D.S.O.,  i.  82,  83,   105,  526,  539, 

568  ;  ii.  194,  465,  489. 
Birkbeck,  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  Wm.  H., 

K.C.B.,  C.M.G.,  i.  566. 
Birkenhead,  Lord,  K.C.,  i.  39,  120-3, 

126,  202,  203,  295,  360,  369,  370, 

374,  398,  503,  586  ;  ii.  2,  3,  240, 

241,  244,  245,  273,  306,  493,  499, 

500,  501,  504,  505. 
,  Lady,  i.  123,  126,  295,  360, 

369,  374,  499,  501,  503. 
Birrell,  Rt.  Hon.  Augustine,  i.  503, 

587  ;    ii.  482. 
Bischoffsheim,  Mrs.,  i.  74,  459,  614; 

ii.  319. 
Bissing,   von,   Governor-General,   i. 

137. 
Bissolati,  Signor,  i.  230  ;   ii.  107. 
Blackburne,  Captain  G.  Ireland,  and 

Mrs.,  i.  87  ;  ii.  353-4,  356,  516. 


Blackwood,  Lord  Basil,  i.  178,  334, 

336. 
,  Lord    and    Lady    Frederick, 

i.  340. 
Blair,  Major,  i.  607. 
Blake,  Sir  Henry,  ii.  493-4. 
Blake-Forster,  Miss  A.,  ii.  312. 
Blandford,  Marquess  of,  i.  343,  397  ; 

ii.  346,  354. 
Blatchford,  Maj.-Gen.,  ii.  87. 
Bliss,  General,  ii.  94,  140,  317,  410. 

,  Mr.,  ii.  211. 

,  Mrs.,  i.  254  ;   ii.  211. 

Block,  Sir  Adam  S.  J.,  K.C.M.G.,  ii. 

46. 
Blow,  Mr.,  i.  162. 

Blumenfeld,  Mr.  Ralph  D.,  ii.  260. 
Blunt,  Rev.  A.  C,  ii.  217. 
Boehm,  General  von,  ii.  344. 
Boldini,  M.,  i.  294. 
Bolo,  ii.  68,  69,  73,  79. 
Bols,  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  L.  J.,  K.C.B., 

K.C.M.G.,    D.S.O.,    i.    269,    526, 

533,  534;   ii.  116. 
Bompiani,  General,  i.  238. 
Bonaparte,  T.I.H.  Prince  and  Prin- 
cess Victor,  i.  108,  143,  302,  410, 

492  ;    ii.  254-5. 
Bonham-Carter,     Sir    M.,     X.C.B., 

K.C.V.O.,  ii.  298. 

,  Lady,  i.  379,  471  ;  ii.  141,  499. 

,  Lieut. -Com.  Stuart  S.,  D.S.O., 

R.N.,  ii.  288. 
Borden,     Rt.     Hon.     Sir     R.     L., 

G.C.M.G.,  etc.,  ii.  328. 
Boris,  Prince,  of  Bulgaria,  ii.  449. 
Boroevic,   General,   i.    225  ;    ii.    33, 

435. 
Bourbon,  Mile,  de,  ii.  521. 

,  Prince  Sixte  de,  ii.  274. 

Bourne,  H.E.  Cardinal  F.,  ii.  439. 
Bowman  -  Manifold,   Brig.  -  General 

M.  G.  E.,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  i. 

272. 
Boyd,  Maj.-Gen.  G.  F.,  C.B.,  C.M.G., 

D.S.O.,  ii.  462,  535. 

,  Captain,  ii.  87. 

,  Miss  Phyllis,  i.  503,  578  ;    ii. 

232,  530. 
Boyle,  Colonel,  ii.  48. 
Brade,  Sir  Reginald  H.,  G.C.B.,  i. 

122. 
Bradford,  Countess  of,  i.  305,  307. 
Bradley,  Brig. -Gen.,  ii.  87,  88. 
Braithwaite,  Lieut.-Gen.  Sir  Walter, 

K.C.B.,  etc.,  i.  104  ;   ii.  535. 
Brancker,     Maj.-Gen.     Sir     Sefton, 

K.C.B.,  ii.  28,  128,  257,  294,  299, 

470,  478,  501,  512. 


XAME  INDEX 


553 


Brand,  Rear-Admiral  the  Hon.  Sir 
Hubert  (G  orge),  In  C  M.G.,  C.B., 
C.V.O.,   R.N.,  H.   15. 

Breteuil,  Marquis  de,  i.  255. 

Brett,  Lieut. -Col.  the  Hon.  Bfaurioe 
V.  B..O.B.E..  M.Y.o..  ..  541,  557. 

Briand,  M.,  L  59,  80,  89,  17"  3,  207, 
216,  217,  323,  328,  332,  347,  402, 
405.  418,  420,  124,  427,  429,  162, 
182,  540,  541,  546,  562  v.  ;  ii.  70, 
150,  205,  210,  213  17,  226,  249, 
260,   197. 

Bridge,  Captain,  i.  175,  17". 

Bridccman.    Admiral    Sir    F.    C.   B., 
209. 

Bridges,  Maj.-Gen.  sir  G.  Tom  M.. 
K.c.M.<:..  C.B.,  D.S.O.,  i.  33, 
91,  372,  108,  U2,  581  8  ;  ii  104, 
141,  160,  188,  272.  326,  400. 

,  Ladv.  i.  412,  612  ;  ii.  326,  470, 

501,  514,  515. 

Baroness  de,   i.    199,   314, 
315,  379,   K>2,  508  ;    ii.  295. 

BrigL'--  I-  Gen.  Sir  Charles  J., 
K.C.B..  K.<  .M.G.,  i.  357  ;  ii.  110, 
124.  517. 

Brinckman,  Mr.,  i.  338. 

,  Colonel  Sir  Theodore  F.,  Bt., 

i.   145. 

Brinton,  Mrs.,  L  325  ;    ii.  27  1.  295. 
'  Dr.,  i.  127. 

Brittain,  Sir  Harry  E.,  K.B.E.,  i. 
L3(  .   142. 

Brook,  Vioe-Adm.  Sir  Osmund, 
K.C.B.,    K.c.m.c.    K.C.V.O.,   ii. 

15. 

9-Rantzau,  Count,  ii.  522. 
Brook-  i    Lord,  i.  335. 

,  Colonel  Ronald  G.,  D.S.o..  L 

289,  375  ;    ii.   L96. 

,  .Mr-.,  i.  289,  612  ;   ii.  L96,  :i2:i. 

Brougham,  Lord,  ii.  504. 

Brown,  Mr.  Constantino,  ii.  278-9. 

Brup  ' '-d.  i.  '»  ;    ii    7  I,  2<>7. 

Bran,  <  leneraL  L  6. 

Bru.-.  .!.  i.  222.  223. 

Gen  i.il.  i.  2  15,  225,  2  1 1, 
245,  27^.  321,  3  i8,  370,   104,     - 
...  ;    n.  878 
Boooleooh,  I'  275. 

Buehan,  Mr.  John,  ii  316. 

H. hi.  Sir  <  ;•  org   w  . 
G.C.B.,  Q  <M  <:..  G.<    V.O.,  L  53, 

liu.l,.  1,   Mr.,  i 

I  olonel,  ii.  »:t:t.  . 

.  Mr.  G     I.  .   .     L8. 

i  Col      O.      \      M  . 


Buokmaster,  Lord.  ii.  L96,  502. 
Budworth,     Maj.  Gen.    C.    E.    D., 

C.B.,  C.M.G.,  M\  .()..  i.  52:?. 
Bulkeley  •Johnson,  Colonel,  i.  636. 

.  Ml  F.  11..  i.  52. 
Billow.  Count   \  on.  ii.  448. 
Bunbury,  Maj.-Gen  Wm.  E.,  C.B., 

i.  281,  t*)06. 

Burner.  iJ<-neral,   i.   430. 

Burgees,  Lieutenant,  i.  52i>. 

Burian.  Count,  ii.  401,  403. 

Burke,  Mr.,  ii.  524,  527. 

Burn,  Colonel  Charles,  M.B..  L  587  ; 

ii.  275,  279,  297. 
Burne-Jones,  Sir  Philip,  Bt.,  i.  428. 
Burnham,  Lord,  i.  572  ;    ii.   149. 
Burns.  Rt.  Hon.  John,  M.T..  ii.   196. 
.  Mr.  Walter,  L  437,  572.  576, 

581  :    ii.  282,  310,  344. 
,  Mrs.,   i.    437,    611,    572, 

575,  581  ;    ii.  310,  328,  344. 
Burtchaell,    Lieut. -Gen.    Chas.    H., 

C.B.,  etc.,  ii.  386. 
Burton.   .Mrs.,  ii.   469,  471,  629. 
Butler,  Lieut. -Col.  Lewis,  ii.  it. 
,  Lieut.  -Con.    Sir    R.    H.     K., 

K.C.B..  K.C.M.C.,  ii.  9,  101,  103, 

104,  268,  535. 
Butter,  Mrs.  Archibald,  i.  473. 
Byng,      General      Lord,      G.C.B., 

K.C.M.G.,   etc.,   i.    82,    101,    104, 

532,  533  ;   ii.  101,  104,  143-8.  163, 

270,  358,  366,  367,  374,  461,  489, 

525. 
,  Ladv,   i.    145,   201,   435,  510  ; 

ii.  183,  435,  525. 

|  CaDoo  w.   Hon.  Sibyl,  i.  617. 
!  Cadorna,  General,  i.    133,   152,  222, 
223,  233,  239,  240,  241,  243.  283, 

2sii.  :;:M.  32  t.  335.  3SS.    tL".l,  430, 

193,  503,  504  ;    ii.  31.  33,  35,  50, 

62,  66,  84,   107-9,    126,   127,   129, 

130,  132,  l  15.  178,  127. 
Caillard,  sir  Vinoenl   11.  P.,  i.  201, 

mi.  610  :   ii.  234,  312,  343,  521. 
CaiHaux,   M  .  L    169  ;    ii.  220,  226, 

260. 
Callagl  m       Idmiral     Sir    G.     A., 

i. .1    r.  .  G.O.V.O.,  n.  22. 
CallwelL.    Maj.  Gen    Sir   Chas.    ES., 

K  C.B.,  i.   K),  104,  862 
<  'illinium  Levy,  M    <  la  iton,  n.  453. 
Calmette,  M,"  ii  77. 
Cambon,  U.K.  If,  Paul  D.G.L.,  eta  . 

i   2  l.  10,  332,  84 1.  101,    1 16,   168, 
•  i.  574  ;    ii.  2  1.  I  12,  194  8, 

200,  268    280-2    28  i,  818. 

.  M.  Jules,  u    2  1. 


554 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Cambridge,  Marquess  of,  G.C.B., 
G.C.V.O.,  C.M.G.,  and  Marchion- 
ess, i.  573 ;  ii.  529. 

,  Lady  Victoria,  i.  288  ;  ii.  529. 

Camerana,  General,  i.  241. 
Campbell,  Captain  Arthur,  ii.  295. 

,  Maj.-Gen.,  ii.  536. 

,  Mr.  Gerald,  i.  152. 

,  Miss  Joan,  i.    188,   292,   300, 

410,  411,  413. 

,  Mrs.  Patrick,  ii.  129. 

Campbell  -  Bannerman,    Rt.    Hon. 

Sir    Henry,    i.    3,    12  ;     ii.     235, 

506. 
Caflongo,  Count  San  Esteban  de,  ii. 

251. 
Canterbury,  Viscount,  i.  611. 
Capel,  Miss  Bertha,  i.  69. 
Capello,  General,  i.  241. 
Caraman    Chimay,   Countess    Ghis- 

laine  de,  i.  33,  89,  175,  217,  254  ; 

ii   219   220. 
Carden,  Admiral  Sir  S.H.,  K.C.M.G., 

i.  47. 
Carisbrooke,    Marquess    and    Mar- 
chioness of,  ii.  516,  519,  521. 
Carnarvon,  Earl  of,  i.  468  ;   ii.  466. 

,  Countess  of,  ii.  356,  466. 

Carnock,   Lord,    G.C.B.,    G.C.M.G, 

G.C.V.O.,    K.C.I.E.,    i.    88,    301, 

309  ;   ii.  6. 
Carpenter,   Captain,   R.N.,   ii.    286, 

287. 
Carson,  Rt.  Hon.   Sir  Edward  H., 

K.C.,  etc.,  i.  39,  50,  54,  69,  75, 

181,  199,  287,  341,  367,  374,  383, 

399,  403,  448,  451,  479,  578,  579, 

590,  591,  600,  601,  613,  619  ;    ii. 

6,   13,  31,  35,  63,  140,  240,  241, 

283,  284,  297,  298,  464,  480,  481. 
,  Lady,  i.  69,  367,  368,  578  ;   ii. 

232,  282,  283,  284,  501. 
Carstairs,  Mr.,  i.  339. 
Casement,  Sir  Roger,  i.  202,  203. 
Cassel,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Ernest,  G.C.B., 

G.C.M.G,  G.C.V.O.,  i.  70,  74,  410, 

412,413;  ii.  130,    141,   319,   501, 

502,  504. 

,  Felix,  K.C.,  ii.  504. 

Cassels,  Miss  Emmie  a  Court  Allan 

(Mrs.    Wallis),   i.    420,    433,    434, 

492. 

,  Mrs.,  i.  420,  433,  435,  444,  492. 

Castellane,  Marquis  de,  i.   254 ;  ii. 

97,  372,  382. 
Castelnau,  General  de,  i.   143,  153, 

154,    156,    160,    167,    172,    216, 

256-8,  388,  409,  445  ;  ii.  225,  390, 

486. 


Castenskiold,  H.E.   M.  de  Greven- 

kop,  i.  410;   ii.  319,  519. 
Castlerosse,  Captain  Viscount,  i.  120. 
Cataigi,  M.,  ii.  36. 
Cavan,  General  the  Earl  of,  K.P., 

G.C.M.G.,   K.C.B.,   ii.    201,    202, 

400,  418,  421,  425,  454,  469,  525. 
Cave,  Rt.   Hon.   Sir  George,  K.C., 

etc.,  ii.  244. 
Cavell,  Miss  Edith,  ii.  475. 
Cavendish,     Lieut. -Col.     Frederick 

W.  L.  S.  H.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  i. 

256-8. 

,  Brig. -Gen.,  i.  433. 

,  Lieut. -Col.  the  Rt.  Hon.  Lord 

Richard  F.,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  i.   409, 

452,  572  ;  ii.  144,  322,  494. 
,  Lady  Moyra,  i.  409,  452,  453, 

567,  568,  572,  ;   ii.  322,  494. 
Cecil,  Rt.  Hon.  Lord  Hugh,  i.  452, 

567,  602,  603. 
,  Rt.  Hon.  Lord  Robert,  K.C., 

etc.,  i.  183,  431,  437  ;  ii.  151,  161, 

455. 
Cerretti,   Monsignore,   ii.   402,   432, 

435,  438,  441,  442,  445. 
Chamberlain,     Rt.     Hon.     Austen, 

M.P.,  i.  87,  92,  101,  118,  133,  181, 

278,  330,  334,  353,  458,  602,  613  ; 

ii.  25,  278,  282. 
,  Mr.    Arthur   Neville,    i.    413, 

425,  426,  436,  458,  460,  472,  484, 

485,  494,  506. 
Champion  de  Crespigny,  Sir  Claude, 

Bt.,  ii.  292. 
Chaplin,  Hon.  Eric,  D.L.,  C.C.,  ii. 

257,  304. 

, Hon.  Mrs.  Eric,  ii.  257, 304,  529. 

,  Rt.  Hon.  Henry, Viscount,  etc. , 

i.  89  ;   ii.  133,  252. 

,  Mrs.  Vere,  ii.  299,  495. 

Chapman,  Major  William  Percy,  i. 

251. 

,  Mrs.,  i.  251. 

,  Miss,  i.  251. 

Charles,  M.,  i.  578  ;   ii.  6,  55. 
Charteris,  Capt.  the  Hon.  Evan,  i. 

83,  310,  368,  487,  566  ;   ii.  2,  244, 

245,  282,  315. 
,  Brig. -Gen.    John,    D.S.O.,    i. 

255,  258-60,  266,  520-2,  535,  541, 

557  ;   ii.  84,  98,  99,  159. 
Chauncey,  Miss,  ii.  321. 
Chesterfield,  Earl  and  Countess  of, 

i.  288  ;  ii.  516. 
Chesterton,  Gilbert  K.  ii.  243. 
Chetwode,    Lieut-Gen.,    Sir   Philip, 

K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  i.  27, 
511,  564;   ii.   155,  471,  472. 


NAME  INDEX 


555 


Chetwode,  Ladv,  i.  337  ;    ii.  471. 

Chichester.   Maj.-Gen.    A.    A.,  C.B.. 
D.S.O.,  ii.  535. 

Chilcot,  Mr.,  i.  205 

Childs.      Maj.-Gen.      Sir      Borlase, 
K.C.M.G.,  C.B..  ii.  527. 

Chirol,  Sir  Valentine,  i.  300. 

Chishohn.  Mr.  Hugh.  i.  474. 

Christie.  Miss.  ii.   26. 

Christopher,      H.R.H.      Prince,     of 
Greece,  ii.  383-4. 

Churchill.     Spencer-.     Viscount,     ii. 
292. 

.  Ladv  Gwendeline.  i.  46, 

360,  368,  378.  379.  495.  578  ;  ii. 
6,  27,  28,  188.  232.  497. 

,  Lord   Ivor,    i.    441  ;    ii. 

465. 

,  Major  John.  i.  198,  232, 

575.  578. 

,    Ladv    Randolph,    C.I.,  j 

etc..  i.  46,  34.  68,  101,  188-90, 
193,  198,  325,  327.  328.  335.  344. 
368,  411.  412.  413.  49.3.  510,  511, 
567,  373.  581  ;  ii.  27.  55,  143.  181, 
201,  235.  244.  294,  312.  323, 
554,  483.  497,  519,  521,  626. 

,   Rt.    Hon.    Winston   L., 

i.  19.  46-8.  o^,  67.  (58.  121,  125, 
189,  190-3,  198,  199.  203-5,  208, 
209,  211,  212,  287,  288,  294, 
819,  327.  328,  335,  336,  340,  341, 
343-6,  350,  352,  354.  360.  368-70, 
376,  376,  378,  379.  397.  403.  411, 
413.  438.  441.  4.31.  461,  513,  317. 
667,  37'J.  680,  586,  605,  618  ;  ii 
6,  16,  2".  33,  36,  36,  43,  44.  46, 
52.  f.tl.  129.  182.  229.  238.  2H3. 
291.  326,  366,  111,  412.  161,  193, 
496-9,  601,  510. 

,  Ifn.  Winston,  i  190,  199, 

211.  212.  327.  334,  333.  343,  360, 
•    370,  879,  380,  W3,  438.  441, 
431.  513,  517,  667,  572  ;    n.  232, 
601. 
Ciari'  al,  i  241. 

( iigliana,  General,  L  241. 
Cipriano,  General,  ii  122,  128 

ii.  M.  i.  661, 
Clariostti,  Colonel,  L  226,  237.  248, 

tptein,  ii 
ClHrk",  Ladv  Eileen,  ii  322. 

,  M.--.   ii    322. 

■  ,[..    Lieut.  Gen.     Sii     I      T., 
1,  i    B  .  B  I    M.G        838  M),  842, 
-      11  i 
<  kirnonooan.  M    I  ••    i  gas,  L 

i.  B  i    :    ii.  74-8.    1 16,    i  18,    160, 


162,  164,  175.  178.  193-6.  200.  202, 
203,  2H7-9.  211,  212,  219.  220,  222. 
235.  241.  242.  246,  2  19.  250.  260, 
266,  280,  281,  296,  299,  310,  320, 
359,  367-73,  377.  380  2,  384-6, 
397,  400  7.  410,  123,  128,  129,  466, 
457,  469,  460.  472.  486,  489,  192, 
498,  509,  513,  522.  539,  541, 
.Ml 

Clerk,  Sir  Georu-.  K.C.M.G.,  C.B., 
ii.   26,  512.  522. 

Clifford,  Ladv.  of  Chudleigh.  ii.  162. 
239. 

Clive,  Maj.-Gen.  G.  Sidnev.  C.B., 
C.M.G.,  D.S.O..  i.  28.  405.  590; 
ii.  83-6,  221.  224,  378,  400.  533. 

Clonmell,  Countess  of,  i.  72. 

Clvnes.  Rt.  Hon.  J.  R,,  M.P.,  etc., 
"ii.  242. 

Coates.  Major  Sir  Edward  F.,  Bt., 
i.  40:?. 

,  Lady,  i.  403  ;    ii.   125. 

Cochrane,  Captain  Lord,  ii.  467. 

Cookburn,  Brig.-Gen.  George,  C.B., 
D.S.O.,  i.  445. 

Cockerill,  Brig.-Gen.  George  Kynas- 
ton,  C.B.,  i.  40  ;    ii.  498. 

Cocks,  Captain  J.  Somers.  i.  311, 
343,  369. 

Cointet,  Colonel  de,  i.  30,  157,  161  ; 
ii.  59,  84,  85,  224,  381. 

Coko,  Colonel  the  Hon.  Edward. 
D.S.O.,  M.C.,  ii.  310. 

.  Mrs.,  i.  199. 

Colebrooke,  Lord,  i.  98. 

.  Ln.lv.  i.  62,  64,  57,  72,  87,  93, 

98,  101,  108. 

,  Hon.  Bridget,  i.  381,  462. 

Coleyn,  M..  i.  Ill,  112  ;  ii.  29."..  296, 
163,  164. 

Collard,    Maj.-Gen.    A. 

C.V.O.,  ii.  186. 
Collin,  Colonel  M-.  i.  551. 
<  iolston,  Mrs.,  ii  3.57. 
Colville,    Admiral     1 1 1 « - 
Stanley,     G.C.M.G., 

K.C.I'...  i.  59  1. 

Colvin,  Mr.   [an,  ii    198,  296,  :u.,, 

328. 
•  Somber,  M"j"r.  i.  1 7''>  ;   ii  6 1. 
Comyo  Piatt,  Sir.  T.,  ii  139,  527. 
Conger,  Lieut  < loL,  Li    90. 

i .-\ a,  Lieut  I  len  Sir  Walter  N*  . 

\    i    .  K  .CM..  M.V.O  ,  i.  584, 

ii.  206,  268,  W7. 

,  Lady,  ii  308,  211,  218 

Conn*  i.  bt,  H  i<  H    l  take  of,  L  1 12, 

179,   181  ;    n    I-',  294,  ^.,,  346, 

IT*. 


S„     C.B., 


Hon.     Sir 

G.C.V.O., 


VOL.  II. 


2o 


556 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Connaught,  H.R.H.  Duchess  of, 
i.  74,  479,  487. 

,  Prince  Arthur  of,  i.  237. 

,  Princess  Patricia  of,  ii.   7,   8, 

12,  501,  518. 

Conner,  Brig. -Gen.  Fox,  ii.  90,  489. 

,  Colonel  W.,  ii.  90. 

Constantino,  H.M.  the  King  of  the 
Hellenes,  i.  50,  173,  407  ;  ii.  128, 
407. 

Cook,  Sir  E.  T.,  K.B.E.,  ii.  231,  306. 

Cooper,  Mr.  Alfred  Duff,  ii.  529. 

,  Miss  Gladys,  i.  57. 

Cora,  Signor,  i.  57. 

Corbet,  Sir  Vincent,  Bt.,  i.  64,  75. 

Corbett,  Mr.  Howard,  i.  378,  433  ; 
ii.  188. 

Cornford,  Mr.  L.  Cope,  ii.  198. 

Cornwall,  Major,  i.  539  ;  ii.  98,  99, 
336,  347. 

Corvisart,  General,  ii.  369,  379. 

Cosson,  M.  de,  ii.  49. 

Courtney,  Lord,  i.  90. 

Cowans,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  John, 
G.C.M.G.,K.C.B.,etc.,i.23,  53,  58, 
76,  77,  86,  89,  90,  98,  102,  104, 
121,  182,  279,  280,  289,  293,  300, 
327,  351,  360,  393,  397,  399,  400, 
406,  408,  414,  422,  428,  445,  447, 
452,  463,  482-3,  565,  566,  573, 
577,  612,  614,  616  ;  ii.  46,  63,  128, 
139,  162,  259,  260,  261,  304,  305, 
315,  317,  324,  354,  494,  501,  507. 

Cox,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  Herbert  V., 
K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,  C.S.I.,  ii.  50-2. 

,  Lieut.-Col.  P.  G.  A.,  i.  127,  349- 

50. 

,  Colonel,  ii.  157,  336,  345,  347, 

400. 

Cradock,  Admiral,  i.  47. 

Craig,  Lieut.-Col.  Sir  James,  Bt., 
M.P.,  and  Lady,  i.  604  ;   ii.  181. 

Cravath,  Mr.  Paul  D.,  ii.  306,  324, 
333-5,  337,  443,  467,  468,  471-3. 

Craven,  Earl  of,  ii.  482. 

Crawford,  Earl  of,  i.  268,  566. 

Crawshay,  Mrs.,  i.  Ill  ;   ii.  143,  251. 

Creagh,  General  Sir  O'Moore,  V.C., 
G.C.B.,  etc.,  i.  607. 

Creel,  Mr.  George,  ii.  468,  498. 

Crewe,  Marquess  of,  i.  85,  87,  285, 
381,  581  ;    ii.  304,  322,  504. 

,  Marchioness  of,  i.  381. 

Crichton,  Mrs.  Arthur,  ii.  513,  515. 

Croft,  Brig. -Gen.  Henry  Page, 
C.M.G.,  M.P.,  i.  471. 

Cromer,  Earl  of,  i.  129,  383,  450  ;  ii. 
526. 

■ ,  Countess  of,  ii.  526. 


Crosby,  Mr.  Sheldon  S.,  ii.  484. 
Crosfield,  Sir  Arthur  H.  and  Lady, 

ii.  137. 
Crossley,  Sir  Savile,  i.  145. 
Crowe,  Sir  Eyre,  K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G., 

i.  88  ;   ii.  25,  26,  463,  478,  542. 
,    Brig. -Gen.    John   Henry  V., 

C.B.,  i.  60,  162. 
Crown    Prince    of    Germany,    the, 

i.    130;     ii.    345,    352,    464,    480, 

482. 
Croy,  Prince,  ii.  106. 
Crozier,  General,  ii.  254,  255. 
Cubitt,  Sir  Bertram,  K.C.B.,  i.  37. 
Culme  Seymour,  Rear- Adm. Michael, 

C.B.,  M.V.O.,  ii.  415. 
Cunard,  Lady,  i.  54,  68,  70,  71,  178, 

188,  189,  193,  194,  286,  297,  301, 

312,  325,  326,  334,  335,  340,  342, 

344,  356,  360,  369,  370,  375,  379, 

404,  406,  411,  461,  468,  495,  507, 

508,  513,  573,  575,  587,  604,  619  ; 

ii.  27,  28,  55,  133,  141,  178,  232, 

258,  264,  267,  320,  345-7,  519-21, 

524,  526,  527. 
,  Ernest  H,  i.   201,  479,  572  ; 

ii.   267,  304,   324,  340,  341,  478, 

507,  514,  516. 
Cuninghame,  Lieut.-Col.  Sir  Thomas 

A.  A.  M.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  393. 
Cunningham,  Sir  Henry,  K.C.I. E., 

and  Lady,  i.  299. 
Currie,  Mr.  Leo,  i.  339. 
Curry,  Mr.  A.  H.,  ii.  523. 
Curzon   of   Kedleston,   Earl,   K.G., 

G.C.S.I.,  etc.,  i.  39,  51,  64,  66,  72, 

88,  89,  90,  107,  116,  119,  125,  181, 

278,  286,  301,  327,  335,  353,  354, 

397,  411,  418,  464,  510,  581  ;    ii. 

31,  50,  51,  60,  190,  235,  252,  259, 

315,  320,  322,  503,  516. 

,  Countess,  i.  411,  473. 

,  Viscountess,  i.  334,  335,  566, 

572  ;   ii.  257,  294,  299,  327,  543. 
,   Hon.     Frank,    i.     286  ;      ii. 

328. 

,  Lady  Irene,  i.  89,  473. 

,  Mr.  Richard,  ii.  344. 

Cust,  Lionel  Henrv,  C.V.O.,  etc.,  i. 

286,  360,  404,  411,  447. 
j  Czernin,  Count,  ii.  210,  214,  221. 

I  D'Abebnon,  Lord,  i.  64,  326,  331, 

381,  397,  399,  452,  453.  612  ;    ii. 

131,  188,  232,  233,  306,  313,  521, 

528. 
j ,  Lady,  i.  381,  397,  399,  452  ; 

ii.   137,  313,  314,  516,  528. 
Dalhousie,  Countess  of,  ii.  479. 


NAME  INDEX 


557 


Dall"  Olio,  General,  i.  286,  321  ;    ii. 

46,  62. 
Dalmenv,  Lieut. -Col.  Lord,  D.S.O., 

M.C,  M.P..  i.  269,  526,  528,  539  ; 

ii.  503,  506,  507,  515. 
Dalziel.  Rt.   Hon.   Sir  11.  J.,  M.P.. 

ii.  461. 
Dankl.  General,  i.  224. 
Darling,  Sir  Charles  John  (Rt.  Hon. 

Mr.  Justice),  ii.  197,  198,  516. 
Daudet,  M.  Leon,  ii.  7  7. 
David.  A.  J.,  K.C.,  i.  106,  127. 
Davids.  Lord  St..  t.  247. 
Davidson.   Maj.-Gen.   Sir  John   H., 

K.C.M.G.,    C.B.,     D.S.O.,    M.P., 

i.  535  ;    ii.  84,  366.  367. 
Davies,  Major  David,  MP.,  i.  558  ; 

n.    127.   12S.  212. 
,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  F.  J.,  K.C.B., 

K.C.M.G.,    etc.,    i.    82,    348  ;     ii. 

176. 

,  Mr.  J.  T.,  C.B.,  i.  46,  52,  53. 

,  Mr.  William  H.,  i.  188,  189. 

Davignon.  M.,  i.  289. 
Davis,  H.E.  John  YV..  ii.  468. 

,  Mr.,  i.  406;  ii.  313. 

Dawnav.    Major    the    Hon.    Hugh. 

D.S.O.,  i.   28,    127. 
Dawson,    Brig. -Gen.    Sir    Douglas, 

G.C.V.O.,   C.B.,   C.M.G.,   ii.    176, 

529. 

,  Lady,  i.  301  ;    ii.  629. 

,  Geoffrey,  i.  298  ;     ii.    32,    34, 

35,  106,   126,  129,   132,   133,   149, 

152,  181,  187,  245,  284,  503. 

,  Mr.,  ii.   523. 

Deacon.  Miss  Gladys,  ii.  221. 
Debeney,  General,  'ii.  358,  364,  473. 
De  Brocqueville.  ML,  i.   183. 
De  Burgh,  Lieut. -Col.  T.  J.,  ii.  532, 

537. 
De  Forest,  Baron,  ii.  32. 

,  Baroness,  i.  57,  566. 

Degoutte,  General,  ii.  461,  464. 
De  Lalaing,  M.  and  Mme.,  i.  491. 
IM.HMse,   ML,   i.    171  n.,    173,    174. 
D'lv-iH,  Mm'-.,  i.  304. 
Demidoff,    Prince   do   San    Donato, 

i.  4 
Denikin,  General,  ii.  513,  517,  522, 

526. 
Denietoun,  Mrs.,  ii  46,  180. 
Derby,  Earl  of,  K.G.,<; .«  .V.O., 

i.  48,  56,  61,  64  7.  35,  B6,  90,  95, 

LOO,  101,  109,  1 13,  115,  135,  136, 

145.  I  16,  275,  283,  290,  331,  345, 

400,  104,  L06    108,  n  i.  119,  126, 

418,  429,  134,  L36,  ill.  hi.  1 16, 

161,  468,  460,  168,  469,  471,  483, 


513,  518,  -'7  1.  5SS.  tiOO,  (101  ;  ii. 
29,  101,  162,  166,  181,  198,  204, 
225,  228-30,  238.  259.  270,  276, 
280,  281,  286,  298.  299,  313,  366, 
367,  368,  385,  400,  409,  455.  537. 

D'Erlaoger,  Baron  Emile  Beau- 
mont, ii.  2  17. 

,  Baroness,  i.  193. 

Demburg,  Count,  i.    141. 

De  Robeek,  Vice-Adm.  Sir  John, 
Bt.,  G.C.M.G..  K.C.B.,  i.  47. 

Derwent,  Lord,  i.  568. 

Desborough,  Lord,  K.C.V.O.,  etc., 
i.  347  ;    ii.  277. 

,  Lady,  ii.  232. 

Dossier,  Colonel,  i.  156. 

Dessino,  General,  i.  439,  441.  442, 
443,  444,  468.  491.  497,  500,  570, 
576;  ii.  37,  46,  47,  60,  106.  I  II. 
145,  245,  246.  261. 

,  the  daughter  of,  i.  576. 

Deterling,  M.  ii.   295. 

Deuvigne,  Colonel,  i.   156. 

Deverell, Maj.-Gen.  C.  J., C.B., ii.  535. 

Deville,  General,  ii.  378. 

Devlin,  Mr.  Joseph,  M.P.,  i.  399. 

Devonshire,  Dukeof,K.G.,G.C.V.O., 
etc.,  i.  411. 

D'Eyncourt,  Tennyson-,  Sir  E.  H.W., 
K.C.B.,  i.  345  ;    ii.  411,  412. 

Diaz,  General,  i.  226.  232,  233.  236  ; 
ii.  130,  160,  201,  358,  377,  403, 
406,  416,  418,  421-6,  428,  429, 
433,  437,  442. 

Dick,  Colonel  Sir  Arthur,  K.B.E., 
C.B.,  C.V.O.,  i.  115. 

Dickman,  General,  ii.  486. 

Dillon,  Dr.  E.  J.,  i.  114,  124,  252, 
574.  587  ;    ii.   348. 

,  John,  M.P.,  i.  93,  483. 

,  Major  S.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  532. 

Diiuitrieff,  General  Radko,  i.  244  n., 
389. 

Di  Reval,  Admiral,  ii.  45. 

Di  Robilant,  General,  i.  222,  223, 
240,  247  ;    ii.  426. 

Djeiiial,  bhe  Great,  ii.   116. 

Dmowaki,  M.  Roman,  ii.  221,  225, 

226. 
Dobell,      Maj.-Gen.      Sir      Charles, 

K.C.B.,  I  .  I4.G.,  D.S.O.,  i.  511. 
Domvile,  Captain  Barry  E.,  CM  < ... 

K.N..  n.    II. 
Donald.  Mr.  Robert,  L  136  ;   ii.   278, 

I'll. 
Doubleday,  Mr.,  ii.  499. 

,  Mr.  and  Mi  ..  Felix,  Li,  .>2;». 

Douglas,  General  Sir  Charles,  i.  20, 

22  ;     ii   B6, 


558 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Doumergue,  M.,  i.  445. 
Down,  the  Bishop  of,  ii.  495. 
Downshire,    Marquess    of,    ii.    514, 

523. 
,  Evelyn,    Marchioness    of.     i. 

107  ;    ii.  495,  508,  512,  514,  516, 

523,  525. 
Doyle,  Sir  A.  Conan,  D.L.,  LL.D., 

ii.  292. 
Drexel,   Mr.,  i.   88,    169,   203,   301 ; 

ii.  2,  3,  34. 

,  Mrs.,  i.  88,   182,  203. 

Driant,  Colonel,  i.  216. 

Drogheda,  Earl  of,  C.M.G.,  i.   107, 

211,  343  ;    ii.  267,  357,  465. 
,  Countess  of,   i.   57,   68,   343  ; 

ii.    137,   198,   232,  284,  267,  357, 

465,  471. 
Drumm,  Colonel,  ii.  396. 
Drummond,  Lady,  ii.  252. 
Dubail,  General,  i.  166,  169  ;  ii.  151. 
Du  Cane,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  John  P., 

K.C.B.,   i.   76,   77,   94,    147,   286, 

363,  524,  526  ;    ii.  275,  340,  364, 

373,  376,  378,  461. 
Du  Cros,  Sir  Arthur  P.,  Bt.,  M.P., 

i.  325,  337,  359,  375  ;    ii.  320. 

,  Lady.  i.  359. 

Dudley,  Earl  of,  i.  428,  450. 

Duff, General  Sir  Beauchamp,D.S.O., 

i.    198,   278,   280,   285,    317,   318, 

605,  606. 
,  Lady  Juliet  (now  Trevor),  i. 

103,   106,   188-90,   193,  381,   388, 

447,    450,    487,    490,    619  ;     ii.    7, 

141,  166,  178,  234,  237,  242,  245, 

284,   292,   300,   348,   470. 

,  Miss  Veronica,  ii.   141. 

Dufferin  and  Ava,  Marquess  of,  ii. 

283,  304,  525,  526. 
■ — ,  Marchioness  of,  ii.  304, 

525,  526. 
Duggan,  Mrs.  (now  Countess  Curzon 

of  Kedleston),  i.  55,  76,   98,   107, 

108,  109,  120,  125,  279,  280,  286, 

287,  326,  327,  335. 
Du  Hamel,  M.  Jean,   ii.  320,   345, 

346,  354. 
Duke,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Henry,  i.  381, 

457,  602. 
Duncannon,  Major  Viscount,  CM. G., 

M.P.,  ii.  219. 
Dunlop,  Captain,  i.  415,  430. 
Dunraven,  Earl  of,  i.  85. 
Dupont,   General,   i.    30,    153,    156, 

219,  402,  501,  507,  557. 
D'Urbal,  General,  i.  49,  269. 
Durham,     The    Rt.     Rev.     Bishop 

Welldon,  Dean  of,  ii.  399. 


Earle,  Sir  Lionel,  K.C.B.,  C.M.G., 

i.  124,  126-7,  335,  408,  471,  567, 

568  ;    ii.   195,  201,  304,  310,  315, 

317,  318,  322,  324,  474,  528. 
,  Lieut, -Col.   Maxwell,   C.M.G., 

D.S.O.,  i.  124  ;    ii.  318. 

,  Mrs.  C.  W.,  i.  126;  ii.  8. 

Eberhardt,  General  von,  ii.  367. 

Ebert,  Herr,  ii.  480. 

Ebury,  Lady,  ii.  526. 

Edward,    H.R.H.    the     Prince    of 

Wales,  K.G.,  i.  27,  28,  237  ;  ii.  23, 

220,  243,  418,  502,  507,  529. 
Edwards,    Senor    don    Agustin,    i. 

604. 
Egerton,  Maj.-Gen.  Granville  G.  A., 

C.B.,  i.  188,  279  ;    ii.  106. 
Eichhorn,  General  von,  i.  245. 
Einem,  General  von,  ii.  344. 
Eisner,  Herr  Kurt,  ii.  500. 
Elcho,  Lady,  ii.  257,  337. 
Elles,  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  Hugh  Jamieson, 

K.C.M.G.,   C.B.,   D.S.O.,   ii.   460, 

462,  529,  531. 
Elliott,     Lieut. -Gen.     Sir     Edward 

Locke,  K.C.B.,  K.C.I.E.,  D.S.O., 

ii.  201,  282. 
,  Miss  Maxine,  i.  201-3,  211,212, 

307,  374,  375. 
Ellis,  Sir  Charles  E.,  G.B.E.,  K.C.B., 

ii.  412. 
Ellison,      Maj.-Gen.      Sir      Gerald, 

K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  ii.  485. 
Elsie,  Miss  Lily,  ii.  162. 
Enkel,  Colonel,  i.  243,  244,  256,  282  ; 

ii.  417,  430,  517. 
Epstein,  Mr.  Jacob,  ii.  6. 
Erzberger,  Herr,  ii.  479. 
Esher,  Viscount,  G.C.B.,  G.C.V.O., 

etc.,  i.  3,  4,  5,  11,  216,  217,  218, 

220,  252,  254,  258,  540,  550,  557  ; 

ii.  68,  528. 

,  Viscountess,  i.  218. 

Essex,  Earl  of,  i.  203,  345,  536. 
,  Adela,  Countess  of,  i.  116,  203, 

282,  345,  487,  495,  496,  613  ;    ii. 

7,  86,  97,  106,  145,  188,  232,  316, 

344. 
Etienne,  M.,  i.  6. 
Eugenie,    H.I.M.    the    Empress,    i. 

492-3  ;    ii.  255. 
Evert,  General,  i.   79,  225,  245  n., 

257. 
Ewart,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  J.  Spencer, 

K.C.B.,  i.  14,  82,  105,  110,  604. 

Fabbri,  General,  ii.  426. 
Fabricotti,  Countess,  i.  360. 
Fabry,  Lieut. -Col.,  ii.  386. 


NAME  INDEX 


559 


Fagalde,  Colonel,  i.   1G6  ;    ii.  2.  68, 

59.  63.  64,  66,  92,  107.  137.  148, 
150.  151.  152,  162,  1SS,  241,  265, 
279,  298. 

Fairbairn.  Mr.,  i.  301,  508. 
Fairfax.  Lord,  i.  335. 

,  Miss.  i.  391. 

Falconer,  Captain  Lord,  i.  83. 
Falkenhavn,    General    von.    i.    131. 

138.   319.   340,   354,   392  ;    ii.    61, 

1 15.   154,  155. 
Falmouth.  Viscountess,  i.  290. 
Fanshawe,    Lieut. -Gen.    Sir   E.    A  . 

K.C.B..  i.  525. 
Farquhar,  Viscount,  i.  473  ;   ii.  182, 

521. 

.  Viscountess,  i.  508.  521. 

Farquharson,  Joseph,  R.A..  ii.  322. 
Fauoher,  Oommandant,  i.  157,  158. 
Faustina.  Princess,  ii.  444. 
Fauthier,  M..  i.  389. 
Fayolle,  General,  ii.  205,  309. 
Feilding,  Lady  Dorothie,  i.  34. 
Fellowee,  Captain  the  Hon.  Reginald 

A.,  ii.  374.  472.  478. 
Fenton.  Mr.,  i.  342. 
Fenwick.  Mr.  Mark.  i.  390. 
Ferdinand,  Tsar  of  Bulgaria,  i.  317, 

404  ;    ii.  149. 
Fergusson,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  C,  Bt., 

K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G,  etc.,  ii.  533-7. 
Ferry.  General,  ii.  372. 
Feversham,   Earl  and  Countess  of, 

i.  371  ;    ii.    141. 
Fiastri.  CoL-Brig.,  L  242.  243. 
Fieldinj.'.  Mr-  .  ii  323. 
Fiennes,  Mr.  Gerard,  i.  378. 
FingalL   Countess   of,  i.  410,   411  ; 

ii.  217. 
Finlav.  Major,  ii.    1  l»i. 

Firrninger,  Mr.,  ii.  1 66. 

Fishei .  Rt.   Hon.  Herberl  A.  L.,  i. 

306  ;    ii.  527. 
,    Admiral   of   the    Fleet    Lord. 

G  I    I'..,  O.M.,  etc.,  L  3,  L,  5,  11, 

12,  1 1.  47.  192. 

.  Mr.,  n.  518,  519. 

lerald,  Colonel  O.,  122,2 11, 2 13. 
,  Li.. ut   CoL    Brinsley,  C.B.,  i. 

27.  37.  88,  97,   182,  294,  295  ;    ii. 

88. 
,  Hon.  Evelyn,  L  327,  487  ;    ii. 

60,  128,  143. 

,  Captain  8ir  John,  Bt.,  Knight 

Kerry.  M.C.,  it  167. 
,  i  |    (,.  .1.,  C.V.O.,  m. 

I-  m  /<  lerald,   Lieut.  Col.  P 

.wo,,  i.  D.fi  0.,ii    i  19,  io8. 


Flanagan.  Mr.,  i.  325. 
Fleming,  Mr.  Robert,  i.  299,  300. 
Fletoher,  Lieut  -Col.  Alan  F..D.S.O., 
MLV.O.,  i.  535  ;    ii.  101,  363,  460. 
Floriau,  M..  i.  289. 

Foch.  Marshal,  i.  31.  19,  155,  160, 
175.  219.  253.  259.  263.  269,  270, 
271.  283,  2s  I.  331.  345,  363,  555. 
556,  558.  567,  571,  574,  585,  586, 
589,  590;  ii.  38.  M>,  r>8,  59,  64,  66, 
(if,.  87,  73.  74.  80,  100.  105,  108, 
129.  130.  132.  145,  150,  159,  182, 
178,  179,  196,  203.  204,  207.  208, 
209.  2  hi.  222.  223.  239.  246,  250, 
260,  261,  263,  266,  287,  275.  276, 
279.  280.  283,  297.  303.  314.  317. 
321,  331,  335.  336,  339.  340,  345, 
346,  356,  358,  361,  364,  369,  370, 
371.  373,  374,  375,  376,  377,  378, 
379.  381,  382,  387,  405,  406,  408, 
410,  411,  418.  419.  421,  423,  424, 
429.  430.  433.  438.  449,  452,  454, 
457,  458.  459.  161,  473,  474,  476. 
478,  479,  483.  486,  489,  492,  537, 
538,  539,  540,  541,  546. 

Forbes,  Lady  Angela,  i.  176. 

Forbes-Robertson,  Sir  Johnston, 
Kt..  i.  202.  211-12. 

,  Lady,  i.  211. 

Ford,  Mr.  John,  i.  471. 

,  Mrs.,  ii.  251. 

Forgach,  Count,  i.  17  ;    ii.  492. 

Forrest,  Lady,  ii.  404. 

Fortesoue,  Mrs.  Bevill,  ii.  252. 

,  Captain  the  Hon.  Sir  Seymour 

John.  K.C.Y.O.,  C.M.G.,  i.  76.  87. 
93,  193,  201,  293,  355.  375,  381, 
389,  578,  612,  613;  ii.  48,  198, 
301,  167,  505,  519,  528. 

Foster,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  George  E., 
ELC.M.G.,  etc.,  ii.  547. 

,  Captain,  i.  211. 

,  Lieut. -Col.,  i.  130,  381. 

Foster,  Miss  Ruth.  ii.  508,  513. 

Fox,  Captain  Charles,  i.  0O8,  009, 
616  :    ii-  2,  7. 

France,  M.  Anatoli-,  ii.  386. 

Franohel  d  Bsperey,  General,  i.  loo, 
544;   ii  225.  112. 

Brands,  Mr.,  ii.  282. 

Franz  Joseph,  Emperor  of  Austria, 

i.  251  >,  510. 

Franz  Ferdinand,  Archduke,  i.  17. 

r,  Mr.,  i.    127. 

.  Mr.   Lovat,  i.   1 19,  378,  120, 

160,  Ml,  570;  ii  30,  82,  86, 
132,  202. 

i,  Count,  ii.  812. 

Freeman,  Mr.,  ii,  126, 


560 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


French,  Field-Marshal  the  Rt.  Hon. 
Viscount  French  of  Ypres,  G.C.B., 
O.M.,  G.C.V.O.,  K.C.M.G.,  etc., 
i.  12,  14  n.,  23,  25,  30,  38-41,  58- 
60,  62,  63,  70,  76,  81,  83,  85,  88, 
90,  95-8,  100,  109,  111,  116,  119, 
127,  128,  138,  139,  145,  170,  178, 
179,  185,  192,  203,  204,  240,  275, 
276,  279,  281,  282,  292,  294,  295, 
319,  342,  370,  377,  380,  408,  438, 
469,  471,  472,  479,  490,  505,  515, 
574,  605  ;  ii.  15,  38,  72,  158,  161, 
170,  171,  172,  173,  176,  297,  300, 
307,  311,  344,  366,  446,  524,  528. 

Frewen,  Colonel,  i.  367,  368. 

Freyberg,  Brig. -Gen.  Bernard  C, 
V.C.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  i.  463. 

Friedlander,  Herr,  ii.  443. 

Friuli,  Prefect  of,  i.  244. 

Frugoni,  General,  i.  240. 

Fry,  Mr.  Roger,  i.  567. 

Fryatt,  Captain,  ii.  475. 

Furness,  Viscount,  ii.  495. 

,  Viscountess,  ii.  514. 

Furse,Maj. -Gen.  SirWilliam  Thomas, 
K.C.B.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  524. 

Fyers,  Colonel  H.  A.,  M.V.O.,  i.  423. 

Gage,  Captain  Viscount,  ii.  322. 
Gainford,  Lord,  ii.  316,  318. 
Gallese,  Duca  di,  i.  223. 
Gallet,  Commandant,  i.  90,  175,  183. 
Gallieni,  General,  i.  59,  80,  183. 
Gardner,  Mr.  A.  G.,  i.  123,  136  ;   ii. 

195,  196. 
Garioch,  Lord,  ii.  4. 
Garvagh,  Lord  and  Lady,  ii.  144. 
Garvin,  Mr.  J.  L.,  i.  100,  191,  368, 

369,  389  ;    ii.   151. 
Gasparri,  Cardinal,  ii.  31,  211,  371, 

372,  428,  432,  436,  438-42,  444, 

450,  451,  453. 
Gasquet,  Cardinal,  ii.  31,  371,  372, 

432,  441,  447. 
Gathorne  -  Hardy,    Maj.-Gen.    the 

Hon.  J.  F.,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O., 

ii.  418-21,  425. 
Gauchet,  Admiral,  ii.  414. 
Geddes,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Auckland  C, 

K.C.B.,    M.D.,   Hon.    Brig.-Gen., 

i.   303,  363-5,  372,   378,  379,  383, 

425,    426,    458,    473,    484,    485, 

494,    507,    509,    511,    568,    569; 

ii.    32,   46,   135-7,    186,    187,  193, 

238,  458,  460,  490,  491. 
,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Eric  C,  G.C.B., 

G.B.E. ,  Hon.  Brig.-Gen. ,  later  H  on. 

Vice-Admiral,  i.  274,  275,  338,  339, 

341,  342,  355,  356,  358,  367,  372, 


381,  386,  414,  428,  443,  444,  450, 
560,  619  ;    ii.   191,  240,  264. 

George,  H.R.H.  Princess,  of  Greece, 
i.  326. 

,  H.I.H.  the  Grand    Duke,    of 

Russia,  ii.  413. 

,  H.I.H.  the  Grand  Duchess,  i. 

312,  433,  435,  438;  ii.  323,  348, 
349,  413. 

,  Rt.  Hon.  David  Lloyd,  M.P., 

i.  21,  39,  45,  46,  52,  53,  54,  56, 
64,  65,  67,  72,  76,  81,  90,  96,  117, 
121,  122,  135,  146,  147,  149,  152, 
171,  173,  181,  196,  198,  212, 
274,  275,  277,  282,  283,  284,  285, 
286,  292,  308,  319,  321,  323,  328, 
329,  338,  339,  341,  345,  347,  350, 
351,  353,  354,  356,  358,  359,  360, 
361,  364,  371,  372,  373,  374,  377, 
378,  382,  383,  386,  388,  403,  407, 
413,  414,  418,  419,  420,  421,  424, 
425,  427,  428,  429,  430,  431,  444, 
449,  450,  451,  454,  455,  456,  457, 
458,  459,  466,  461,  464,  468,  473, 
474,  476,  477,  484,  485,  489,  491, 
497,  500,  501,  502,  503,  504,  534, 
540,  550,  552,  555,  556,  557,  560, 
562,  566,  567,  569,  571,  572,  575, 
580,  584,  590,  591,  604,  613,  616, 
617  ;  ii.  2,  5,  6,  25,  37,  46,  52, 
53,  57,  62,  65,  73,  100,  106,  108, 
128,  131,  132,  133,  134,  138,  139, 
140,  143,  147,  148,  149,  151,  152, 
153,  157,  160,  164,  166,  168,  174, 
177,  180,  190,  191,  193,  196,  197, 
198,  202,  203,  204,  206,  208,  210, 
214,  216,  222,  223,  225,  229,  233, 
234,  235,  238,  240,  241,  242,  246, 
247,  249,  250,  255,  260,  261,  264, 
266,  270,  271,  272,  273,  274,  275, 
277,  278,  281,  282,  283,  284,  296, 
298,  300,  301,  304,  313,  324,  330, 
331,  335,  343,  351,  358,  368,  370, 
371,  373,  376,  377,  380,  387,  406, 
446,  455,  457,  458,  459,  473,  474, 
481,  482,  493,  496,  497,  498,  509, 
513,  515,  517,  522,  528,  530,  542, 
543,  544. 

,  Mrs.  Lloyd,  146,  459. 

Georges,  Colonel,  ii.  59,  65. 

Ghambashidze,  M.  D.,  ii.  182. 

Gibson,  Miss  Jessie,  ii.  6. 

Gieger,  Major,  ii.  396. 

Gilinsky,  General,  i.   152,   196. 

Gilmour,  Mrs.,  ii.  278. 

Gioge,  Signor,  i.  244. 

Giolitti,  Signor,  i.  223,  251. 

Giraldi,  General  Pecori,  i.  238,  240, 
250. 


NAME  INDEX 


tfi 


Girouard.  Colonel  Sir  E.  Percv  C, 

K.C.M.G..  D.S.O.,  etc..  ii.  -Job. 
Gleichen,  Maj.-Gen.   Lord  Edward, 
formorlvCountGleichen.K.C.V.O., 
C.B.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  125,  300, 
339,  353.  495,  515. 

,  Countess,  i.  338. 

Glyn.  Elinor,  i.  ^^J  ;    ii.  219. 

,  Lieut . -Colonel   Geoffrey   Lair. 

C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  68. 
Gobatovsky,  General,  i-  -44  n. 
Godfrev-Faussett,  Lady,  ii-   13. 
Godlev.  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  A.  J.,  K.C.B., 

K.C.M.G..  ii.  L07,  212,  344,  535. 
Goldschmidt.  Major,  ii.  382. 
Gordon,  Colonel.  V.C,  i.  401. 
Gordon-Lennox,     Brig. -Gen.     Lord 

Esme    Charles.    C.M.G.,    D.S.O.. 

M.V.O..  ii.  471,  472. 
,  Lady  Esme,  ii.  304,  315,  344, 

471.   472. 
Gore,  Lady  Winifred,  i.  305,  307. 
Goreinvkin.  M..  i.  125. 
Gorringe,Maj.-Gen.SirG.F.,K.C.B., 

K.C.M.G.,D.S.O..i.  170,  180,  187. 
Gorton,   Brig. -Gen.   R.   St.   George, 

C.M.G.,  i.  5. 
Gosse,  Edmund,  C.B.,  LL.D.,  etc., 

i.  85,  210,  463,  507,  014,  610  ;    ii. 

465. 
Gough,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  Hubert  de  la 

Poer,   K.C.B.,   K.C.V.G.,   i.    259, 

262,  208,  372,  393,  398,  513.  525, 

526,  580,  604,  606,   608  ;    ii.    10, 

38,  50,  54,  55,  99,  206,  265,  268-71, 

276,  810,  819,  864,  517. 
Gouraud,  General,  i.  162,  163,  L66  ; 

ii.  74,  207,  314,  342,  374,  381,  473. 
Gourkho,  General  Romeko,  i.    -11, 

410  ;   ii.  106. 
Grahuin,     Sir      Ronald      (Williuin), 

K.C.M.G.,  C.B., i  462,  453;  ii.  26, 

141,     143,    293,    322,     334,     330, 

337,  467-9,  502. 
,  Ladv  (Ronald),  i.  452,  507-8  ; 

ii.  407,  502. 
Grahame,  Sir  G.  Dixon,   K.C.V.O., 

ii.   537. 
Granard,    Earl  of,    K.P.,   O.O.V.O., 

etc.,  i.  H».',  106,  575  ;  ii.  282,  828, 

528 

.   Con  i.   62,   64,   102, 

848,  845,  370,  381, 

406,  178,  »--'.  191,  566,  572,  576  i 

n.  195,  232,  282,  810,  818  16,  317. 

( h  audi  I  lenersL  L  241. 
Granel .  Brig.  I  leu.  Bdv.  ard  ■'  ,  I    1 1  . 
;.  115,  883  ;    •  >.  108. 


Grant,  Brig.-Gen.  Charles,  D.S.O., 

i.  533  ;    ii.  275,  544,  540. 

,  Mr.  J.  A.,  M.P.,  i.  38. 

Grantley,  Lord,  ii.  283. 

Granville,    Earl,   G.C.V.O.,   i.    169, 

174,  256. 

,  Countess,  i.  169. 

Gravensky,  Colonel  Baron,  ii.  40,  47. 
Graves,  Major,  i.  402,  495. 
Gray.   Miss  Xorah  Neilson,  ii.   0. 

Greeoe,  H.M.  the  Queen  of,  i.  ■i';-_\ 

Green,  Mr.,  i.    127. 

Greene,  Mr.  Jerome,  ii.  251. 

Greenwood,  Miss;,  ii.   151,  519. 

Greffuhlr.  Countess,  i.  217.  253,  254, 
2."..-)  ;    ii  219. 

Grenfell,  Field-Marshal  Lord, 
G.C.B.,  G.C.M.G.,  etc.,  i.  605. 

,  Commander,  i.  508. 

,  Lady  Lilian,  i.  371. 

Greville,  Hon.  Mrs.  Ronald,  i.  573, 
575,  599;  ii.  130,  133.  134.  141, 
232,  233,  235,  247.  250,  261,  252, 
258,  264,  271,  282,  304,  310.  312, 
316,  319,  321,  322,  324,  340,  366, 
466,  478,  482,  484,  529. 

,  Hon.  Sir  Sidney  R.,  K.C.V.O., 

C.B.,    i.    78,   410,   479,    574  j      ii. 
134,  141,  304,  507,  513. 

Grey,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Edward  (after- 
wards Viscount),  of  Fallodon, 
K.G.,  i.  2,  3,  4,  10,  12,  18,  53,  88, 
127,  285,  299.  345,  517  ;   ii.  293. 

Grierson,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  James  M., 
K.C.B.,  C.M.G.,  C.V.O.,  i.  5. 
12-14. 

Grigsby,  Miss  Emilio,  i.  68,  68,  79, 
188,  205,  368,  389,  431.  491.  508, 
581,  615  ;  ii.  0,  34,  48,  182,  356, 
469. 

Grimaldi,  General,  i.  248. 

Grimthorpe,  Lord,  i.  114,  312,  391. 

Grisoom,  Colonel,  i.  193;  ii.  334, 336, 
337,  340,  353,  357.  358,  465,  487. 

Grosclaude,  M.,  i.  220. 
i,  ( lolonel,  ii.  4 16. 

Grosvenor,  Countess,  i.  381. 

,  Hon.  Mrs.  Roberl  (now  Lady 

Ebury),    L    573,    574  ;    ii     183, 
32  1. 

Grove,  Brig.-Gen.  E.  \.  W.  s..  O.B., 

i.  804 
Grunne,  Count  de,  L  B8,  510,  600. 
Grfl    .  I  olonel,  L  226  ;   ii  1 17,  129, 

430. 

(  luui  in,   M.,  ii.   403. 

I .  ( 'api .  i In-  Bon.  Prederiok  I'... 
c.ll.lv,  D.8.O.,  Ml'.,  i.  27.  40;  ii. 

232. 


562 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Guest,  Hon.  Lionel  G.  W.,  ii.  55, 
199,  264,  282. 

,  Hon.  Mrs.  Lionel,  i.  430 ;    ii. 

55,  199,  264,  282,  315. 

Gulland,  Rt.  Hon.  John  William, 
M.P.,i.  83. 

Gully,  Hon.  E.  W.  K.,  C.B.,  i. 
114. 

Gunther,  Mr.,  i.  120,  121. 

Guthrie,  Miss  Bridget,  ii.  513. 

,  Mr.  David,  ii.  519. 

,  Mrs.  Murray,  i.  59,  70,  75,  76, 

95,  101,  111,  140,  201,  276,  281, 
289,  355,  383,  399,  404,  411,  412, 
433,  446,  459,  473,  477,  479,  492, 
503,  574,  578,  584,  610,  612,  620; 
ii.  143,  194,  197,  199,  243,  251, 
276,  277,  284,  294,  312,  343,  349, 
354,  474,  482,  515,  519. 

,  Lieut.  Pat,  i.  70,  75,  76,  101  ; 

ii.  294. 

,  Miss  Violet,  ii.  513,  519. 

G winner,  Herr,  i.  124. 

Gywnne,  Mr.  H.  A.,  i.  507  ;  ii.  197, 
199,  201,  218,  219,  223,  228-31, 
234,  235,  237,  241,  246,  261,  271, 
278,  297,  308,  314,  323,  328,  347, 
353,  354,  443,  464,  469. 

Hadfield,  Lady,  ii.  543. 

Haig,  Field-Marshal  Earl,  K.T., 
G.C.B.,  O.M.,  G.C.V.O.,  i.  49,  55, 
62,  81,  88,  92,  93,  97,  119,  122, 
133,  167,  180,  192,  196,  206,  257, 
259,  265,  266,  267,  276,  277,  283, 
293,  294,  295,  323,  339,  340,  342, 
345,  360,  363,  373,  376,  377,  378, 
382,  383,  387,  393,  415,  418,  421, 
438,  443,  445,  449,  450,  451,  456, 
458,  460,  461,  462,  464,  465,  466, 
466  «.,  483,  486,  488,  492,  494, 
499,  507,  510,  511,  513,  514,  517, 
534,  535,  539,  540,  543,  545,  547, 
552,  553,  555,  556,  557,  558, 
562  n.,  565,  573,  583,  587,  588, 
589,  593,  605  ;  ii.  9,  28,  31,  46,  50, 
53,  54,  55,  56,  59,  67,  69,  74,  80, 
81,  82,  83,  84,  85,  86,  87,  98,  100, 
101,  103,  104,  131,  132,  134,  143, 
146,  151,  152,  158,  159,  160,  167, 
168,  173-8,  180,  193,  194,  196,  203, 
209,  221,  222,  223,  225,  230, 
249  n.,  250,  252,  254,  255,  261, 
263,  265,  266,  270,  271,  275,  279, 
282,  291,  297,  314,  330,  331,  332, 
334,  338,  341,  349,  352,  358,  361, 
363,  364,  367,  371,  379,  409,  412, 
460,  464,  466,  467,  473,  487,  489,  I 
493,  508,  510,  524. 


Haig,  Countess,  i.  605. 

,  Colonel  Oliver,  ii.  356. 

Haig-Bovie,  Lieutenant,  ii.  360. 
Haldane,  Rt.  Hon.  (now  Viscount), 

K.T.,  O.M.,  i.  12,  13,  19,  43,  84, 

85,  87,  92,  112,  114,  115,  126,  275, 

282,  285,  286,  345,  476,  477,  491, 

576,  616  ;    ii.  105,  139,  144,  166, 

270,  312,  510,  523,  524. 
,  Maj.-Gen.      Sir     G.      A.     L., 

K.C.B.,  D.S.O.,  i.  422,  423,  431, 

534  ;    ii.  530,  535. 

,  Miss,  i.  576. 

Hall,  Vice-Adm.  Sir  Herbert  G.  K., 

K.C.B.,   C.V.O.,   D.S.O.,   i.    576, 

577  ;   ii.  189,  198. 
,  Sir  E.  Marshall,  K.C.,  M.P.. 

ii.  466. 
Hames,  Sam,  i.  574. 
Hamilton,  Colonel,  ii.  162. 
,  General  Sir  Bruce  M.,  G.C.B., 

K.C.V.O.,   i.    82,    110,    145,    178, 

179,  370. 
,  Captain      Lord      Claud      N., 

D.S.O.,  M.V.O.,  i.  27  ;   ii  418. 

,  Lord  Ernest,  ii.  292. 

,  Admiral    Sir    Frederick    and 

Lady,  ii.  12. 
,  Rt.    Hon.    Lord    George,     i. 

374. 

,  Maj.-Gen.  Hubert,  i.  581. 

,  General  Sir  Ian  S.  M.,  G.C.B., 

G.C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  i.  42,  81-3,  93, 

104,  105,  108,  189,  190,  210,  211, 

289,  299,  375,  397,  403,  415,  450, 

463,  471,  477,  485,  498,  575,  602, 

612  ;    ii.  109,  144,  162,  230,  234, 

256,  323,  484. 
,  Lady  (Ian),  i.   104,  289,  299, 

450,    463,    477,    485,    602,    604; 

ii.   109,   144,   199,    230,  234,  256, 

323,  484,  519,  527. 

,  Mr.,  ii.  315. 

Handford,  Mrs.,  ii.   495,   503,  515, 

518. 
Hankey,  Lieut. -Col.  J.  Cyril  G.  A., 

C.B.E.,  M.V.O.,  ii.  143,  278,  353, 

476,  479. 
,  Brig. -Gen.   E.   B.,  D.S.O.,   ii. 

535. 
,  Lieut. -Col.  Sir  Maurice  P.  A., 

G.C.B.,  i.  42,  181. 
Hannay,  Lieutenant,  ii.  98. 
Hannon,  Patrick  J.  H.,  i.  509,  572. 
Harbord,      Brig. -Gen.      Cyril      R., 

C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  and  Mrs.,  ii.  251. 
,  Maj.-Gen.  J.,  ii.  86,  88,  90,  91, 

389,  391. 
,  Mrs.,  ii.  36. 


NAME  INDEX 


563 


Harcourt,  Viscount,  i.  288,  351,  459, 

612  ;   ii.  505.  506. 
,  Viscountess,  i.   288.  561,  511, 

612  ;    ii.  505. 
Hardinge   of    Penshurst.    Rt.    Hon. 

Lord.  K.G..  etc.,  i.  280.  400.  483. 

511,  ."-75  ;   ii.  11.  14.  21-6.  53.  144. 

285,  313,  502. 

,  Hon.  Diamond,  ii.  11. 

Harington.    Maj.-Gen.    Sir    Charles, 

K.C.B.,  D.S.O..  i.  603  ;    ii.  54.  80, 

100,   281. 
Hannan.  Brig.-Gen.  A.,  C.B.,  D.S.O., 

ii.  531. 
Harnu'iiius.  If.,  ii.   142. 
Harmsworth.  Sir  R.  Leicester,  Rt., 

M.P.,  i.  479. 
Harper,    Maj.-Gen.    Sir   Course   M.. 

K.C.B..  D.S.O.,  ii.  61. 
Harris.  Mr.    H..   i.   78,  80,    102.    106, 

292,  438.  495  ;    ii.  432.  433.  434, 

435,  436,  443,  448.  453,  501.  503. 
,  Rt.  Hon.  F.  Leverton,  M.P.. 

ii.  267.  346. 

.  Mrs.  Leverton,  ii.  346. 

.  Mr.,  ii.  195. 

Harrison.  Mr.  Austin,  i.  75.  136,  335, 

462,  613. 
Hartington.  Captain  the  Marquess 

of,  ii.  412. 
Hartley,  Mr.,  i.  520. 
Hart., pp.  Sir   Charles  E.   C,   Bt.,   i. 

89.  102,  103. 
Harvev  Pasha,  ii.  176. 
Hastings,  Mr.  Patrick,  K.C.,  ii.  230, 

233. 
Hatzfeldt,  Princess,  i.  57,  72,  411, 

508. 
Hautpoul,  Marquis  d\  i.  108. 

,  Countess  Cecil--  d',  ii.  219. 

Haw  troy,  Mr.  Charles,  ii.  322. 

Haze,  Colonel,  ii.  334. 

Headiort,    Marchioness     of,     i.     89, 

160. 
H-H-llum.  Mr.,  ii.   125,   126. 
rTonth.    Maj.-Gen    Bit   Gerard    M, 

K.C.M.C..  CI'...  I). SO.,  i.  531. 
Beaton-Ellis,  Rear  Adm.  B.  II.  !•'.. 

<    B.,  C.B.E.,  M.V.U.,  ii.  22.  23, 

202,  204,   ill.   in., 
,  Lieut   Col.  C.   H.   B.,  C.B.E., 

n.  312. 

,  Miss,  ii.   277. 

H<  djas,  King  ol  I  be,  ii.  471. 

II. .  nostra,    Bai onesi    1  an,    ii.    B I ,;, 

523 
Helena,   ELRJL   Prinoeas,   G.B  1:  . 

I    1    (Prinoesi  I  1.1 1->  ian),  1.  .307 ; 

11.  230. 


Helens,  H.R.H.  Princess,  ii.  384. 
Henderson.  Rt.  Hon.  Arthur.  MP., 

i.  418.  472.  498.  592  ;    ii.   8,   242. 
251,  252.  278. 
,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  David.  K.C.B., 

D.S.O.,   i.    128.   396  ;    ii.   97.    128, 

400.  409.  411.  412.  537.  542. 
Heneker,  Maj.-Gen.  W.  C.  G.,  C.B., 

D.S.O.,  ii.  531.  536. 
Hennessy.  M..  i.  421,  559. 
Henri,  Commandant,  i.  162. 
Henry,  1'rince.  of  Prussia,  i.  133. 
Henry, Sir  Kdward  R..Bt.,G.C.V.O., 

K.C.B..  ii.  485.  486. 
Herbert,  Lord,  i.  71. 
,  Hon.     Lady,     i.    59.    70.    75, 

86,   98,   101,   145,   275.   288,   355, 

381.  390.  400,  401.  410.  473.  401, 

507,  567,  575,  578,  613,  619  ;    ii. 

143,  176,  181,  234,  251,  256,  276, 

339,  499,  505,  507,  515,  522. 
,  Sir  Arthur  J.,  G.C.V.O.,  and 

Lady.  i.  142. 

,  Hon.  Mrs.  Aubrey,  i.  477. 

,  Mr.  Michael,  ii.  234,  515.  522. 

,  Lady   Muriel,    ii.    141-3,    337, 

348.  501. 

,  Lady  Patricia,  ii.  141. 

,  Captain    Sidney,    i.    477  ;     ii. 

234.  515.  522. 
Herbette,  M.,  ii.  77,  78,  543. 
Hermann,   Lieut.,   i.    340,    341  ;     ii. 

225. 
Hermon,  Lieut.  R.  (.).,  ii.  467. 
Herr,  General,  i.  153,  158,  159. 
Herringham,   Maj.-Gen.   Sir   \V.   P., 

K.C.M.C.  C.B.,  M.D.,  ii.  173. 
Hersoher,  Colonel,  ii.  207,  372-3. 
Herve,  M.,  ii.  386. 
Hewart,     Rt.     Hon. 

K.C.,  M.P.,  ii.  231. 
Hewett,     Sir     John 

K.B.E.,  i.  436. 
Hickman,    Brig.-Gen. 

C.B.,  D.S.O.,  Ml'  . 
Hield,  Mr.,  ii.  296. 
Higgins,    .Mr.   O-cil.  i.  289,  327  ;    ii. 

412. 
,  Mrs.    Cecil,    i.    193,    194,   447. 

503  ;    ii.  237. 
,  Henry  V.,  C.V.O..  i.  124,  409  ; 

ii.  204,  295.  411.  412.  52  1. 
.Mrs.    Henry,   i.    83,    116, 

12;..    100,    I"1'.    II  I.   4  77  ;    ii. 

204,  205. 

,  Captain  Rupert,  ii.  184. 

,  Mrs.  Rupert,  1   880,  407, 

.-,7.-,.  578  ;    n.   6,    12...  322. 
Hilmi,  Abbas,  ii.  7:t. 


Sir     Gordon, 
P.,     G.C.S.I., 


Thomas 
i.  508. 


E., 


124. 
125. 


574. 


564 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Hindenburg,     Generalfeldmarschall 

von,  i.  136,  138,  140,  219,  308,  319, 

323,  324,  325,  329,  335,  345,  353, 

373,  380,  404,  410,  426,  464,  501, 

502,  539,  554  ;   ii.  273,  522,  544. 
Hinds,  Mr.,  i.  194. 
Hines,  Colonel,  ii.  95. 
Hintz,  Herr  von,  ii.  401. 
Hoare,  Lieut.-Col.  Sir  Samuel  J.  G., 

Bt.,  C.M.G.,  ii.  448. 
Hoeppner,  General  von,  i.  537. 
Hofberg,  Countess,  i.  74. 
Hogg,  Mr.  Jefferson,  ii.  277. 
Holderness,  Sir  Thomas  W.,  G.C.B., 

K.C.S.I.,  i.  602. 
Holford,  Lieut.-Col.  Sir  George  L., 

K.C.V.O.,    C.I.E.,    and   Lady,   i. 

338  ;   ii.  482. 
Holland,  Sir  Thomas  H.,  K.C.S.I., 

etc.,  ii.  114. 
,  Lieut. -Gen.     Sir    A.    E.    A., 

K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,D.S.O.,M.V.O., 

i.  269. 
Hollway,  Mr.  Robin,  ii.  448. 
Holman,    Maj.-Gen.    H.    C,    C.B., 

C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  366. 
Hone,  Captain  Nathaniel,  ii.   388, 

389,  399. 
Hoover,  Mr.  Herbert  Clark,  ii.  534. 
Hope,  Lady,  ii.  482. 
Hore-Ruthven,  Brig. -Gen.  the  Hon. 

W.  P.,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  i.  266. 
Home,     General      Lord,      G.C.B., 

K.C.M.G.,   i.    531,    533;    ii.    100, 

358,  364,  365,  374,  489. 
Horner,  Sir  John  F.  F.,  K.C.V.O., 

i.  126,  576. 
,  Lady,  i.  27,  125,  126,  388,  476, 

576  ;   ii.  515. 

,  Lieutenant,  i.  27,  54. 

Hoskins,  Captain,  ii.  184. 

House,  Colonel,  i.  124,  141  ;   ii.  140, 

141,  147,  468. 

,  Mrs.,  i.  124. 

Howard-Vyse,  Brig. -Gen.  R.  G.  H., 

C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  116. 
Hudson,  Mr.  Edward,  ii.  341. 
,    Sir    Robert    A.,    G.B.E.,    ii. 

304. 
Hughes,  Evan,  C.B.E.,  M.A.,  i.  145. 
,    Lieut. -Gen.    Hon.    Sir   Sam, 

K.C.B.,  M.P.,  i.  347. 
,    Rt.    Hon.    William    Morris, 

M.P.,  ii.  328,  442. 

,  Mr.,  i.  309,  310. 

Hughes  -  Buller,     Mr.     Ralph      B., 

CLE.,  i.  300,  301. 
Huguet,  Major  (later  General),  i.  2- 

6,  10-14,  499. 


Hull,  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  Charles  P.  A., 

K.C.B.,  i.  422,  423  ;   ii.  163,  164, 

535. 
Hulton,  Sir  Edward,  ii.  345. 
Humbert,  General,  i.   153,  157  ;    ii. 

358. 

,  Mr.  Charles,  i.  557. 

Humieres,  Captain  d',  i.  163. 
Hunter,   Brig. -Gen.   A.   J.,  C.M.G., 

D.S.O.,  i.  110. 
,  Lieut.-Col.  F.  Frazer,  D.S.O., 

ii.  513,  515. 

,  Mrs.  Charles,  i.  301  ;   ii.  499. 

Hunter-Weston,      Lieut.-Gen.      Sir 

Aylmer,  K.C.B.,  D.S.O.,  M.P.,  i. 

262,  266,  267,  268  ;   ii.  212,  527. 
Huntingdon,  Countess  of,  ii.  341. 
Hunyadi,  Count,  ii.  220. 
Hutchison,    Maj.-Gen.    Sir   Robert, 

K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  D.S.O.,  ii.   203, 

205,  208,  356,  466. 

,  Lady,  ii.  356,  466. 

Hutier,  General  von.  ii.  224,  268. 
Huysmans,  M.,  ii.  293. 
Hymans,  M.  Paul,  i.  288. 


Ignatieff,  Colonel,  i.  220. 
Ilchester,  Earl  of,  i.  106,  314,  412, 

616  ;    ii.  4,  130,  235. 
,    Countess   of,   i.    616  ;     ii.    4, 

499. 
Imperiali,  H.E.  the  Marquis,  i.  75, 

129,  335,  410,  612,  613;    ii.  28, 

31,  293,  334,  491,  492. 
,  Marchesa,  i.  75,  129,  410,  612  ; 

ii.  28,  31,  334. 
Inagaki,  General,  i.  432,  437-9,  469, 

470,  477. 
Ingestre,  Viscount,  ii.  323. 
,      Viscountess      (now      Lady 

Winifred   Pennoyer),    i.   616  ;    ii. 

144. 
Ingram,  Mr.,  ii.  508. 
Innes-Ker,    Lieut.-Col.  Lord    Alas- 

tair  R.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  143,  144. 
,  Lady  Alastair,  i.  368,  566  ;  ii. 

143,  144. 
Islington,  Lord,   G.C.M.G.,  D.S.O., 

i.   301,   334,   400,   401,   457,   585, 

602,  603,  619  ;    ii.  2,  7,  27,  233, 

257    346. 
,  Lady,  i.  1,  301,  327,  331,  334, 

400,  578,  585,  600,  602,  603  ;    ii. 

2,  7,  126,  143,  346. 
Isvolsky,  M.,  i.   173,  174,  253,  509. 
Italy,  H.M.  the  King  of,  i.  233-5  ; 

ii.  428,  429,  491. 
Izzat  Pasha,  ii.  476,  477. 


NAME  INDEX 


565 


Jackson,  Sir  Cvril,  K.B.E..  i.  290, 
300. 

,  Admiral  of  the  Fleet  Sir  H.  B., 

G.C.B.,  K.C.Y.O.,  i.  50,  62,  392, 
394. 

,  Prof.  Herbert,  i.  3S6. 

Jacob,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  Claud  \\\, 
K.C.U..  K.C.M.G..  ii.  535. 

Jaffrav,  Captain,  i.  1  16. 

James,  Colonel,  ii-  513. 

,   Mrs.   Arthur,   i.   75,    95,    404, 

479, 

578;   ii.  277,  304,  310,  482.  507. 

,  Miss  Julia,  i.  602,  603. 

Jameson,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Starr,  i.  279, 
280. 

Janin,  General,  i.   15i>. 

Jellicoe,  Admiral  of  the  Fleet  Vis- 
count. G.C.B..  O.M.,  G.C.V.O.,  i. 
132,  280,  295,  311,  393,  394,  415, 
418,  419,  430,  495,  552,  558,  560, 
561,  579  ;  ii.  4.  16,  140.  143,  157. 
160,  171,  188,  189,  190,  191,  205, 
234,  240,  241,  264,  284,  407,414, 
511. 

,  Yiseountes-.  i.  196. 

Jenkins.Rt.Hon.SirL.  H..K.C.I.E., 
and  Lady,  i.  389. 

,  Surgeon-General,  i.  290. 

Jenner,  Lieut. -Col.  Albert  Victor, 
C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  i.  127. 

Jeudwinp,  Ma j. -Gen.  Sir  Hugh  S., 
K.C.B..  ii.   636 

JofTre,  Marshal,  1.  25,  28-30,  49,  50, 
52.  54.  5:«.  •  ',_'.  7:..  so.  si;,  s-.i.  loo, 
117.  119,  13:5.  134.  143,  144,  152, 
153,  166,  157.  166,  167,  168,  169, 
170,  177,  180,  186,  187,  189,  190, 
196,  L97,  M*s  a.,  206,  216,  226, 
255,  350,  358,  378,  383,  392.  106, 
408,  409,  415,  421,  433,  445,  487, 
488.  199,  616,  5  12.  641,  646,  646, 
649,  666,  662  a.,  682,  583,  585, 
586,  587  ;  ii.  2,  66,  67,  59,  68,  69, 
70.  71.  72,  84,  91,  93,  I  13,  L60, 
160,  216,  221,  260,  267,  640 
tone,  Major,  ii  348,  891. 

,  Hon.  Sir  Alan  Y.B.,  O.C.V.O., 

1.  875,  124,  437.  45'.".  163,  473  ;    ii. 
•  -,  77.  106,  280,  319,  346 

,  Hon.  Lh.1v.  1.  65,  69,  289,  375, 

124,   159,  163,  196,  503,  610,  565, 
i  ;    ii.   106,  2so.  345,  346, 

412,     I.'. 

,  Mr..    11.    t... 

t]    <  mint    d'\    i.    491, 

j  610,  51  l.  606  ,   li   34 

ohduke,  ii  135. 

,  Ferdinand,  Archduke,  i.  233. 


Joynaon-Hioks,    Sir   William,    Bt., 

.Si. P.,  i.  406;  ii.  152. 
Joynaon-Hioks,  Lady.  ii.  152. 
Jungbluth,  General,  i.  216. 

Kahn,  Mr.  Otto  H..  ii.  302,  306. 

,  Miss.  ii.  313.  314. 

Kaiser  Wilhelm  11..  H.I.M.  L  3,  18, 

124.   130.    172  a.,    199,    216,  281, 

319.  336,  343,  415.  424.  441,  500, 

568  ;    ii.  23,  24,  74.  126,  214,  272, 

305,    313,    346,    384,    464,    479, 

4S0.  481.  482,  492,  520. 
Kaledin,  General,  i.  245  n. ;  ii.  47, 142. 
Karl,  H.I.M.  Emperor,  ii.  210,  274, 

435,  463. 
Karolyi,  Count,  ii.  512. 
Kavanagh,   Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  Charles 

T.  M.,  K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,  C.V.O., 

D.S.O.,  etc..  ii.  163,  164. 
Kay-8huttleworth,  Mrs.,  ii.  34. 
Keane,  Miss  Doris,  i.   57,   68,   109, 

116,  188,  322,  355,  356,  376,  508, 

615  ;   ii.  6,  48,  129,  480,  517. 
Kellett,  Commander,  R.N.,  ii.   18. 
Keltie.     Sir     John     Scott,     LL.D., 

F.R.G.S.,  F.S.A.,  i.  36. 
Kemball,     Maj.-Gen.     Sir     G.     V., 

K.C.M.G.,    C.B.,    D.S.O.,    i.    444, 

445. 
Kemp,      Hon.      Sir     A.      Edward, 

K.C.M.G.,  ii.  357. 
Kempster,  Brig. -Gen.  F.  J.,  D.S.O., 

i.  128. 
Eenley,  Colonel,  ii.  87. 
Kennalloy,  Mr.  John,  ii.  48. 
Kennedy,  Maj.-Gen.,  ii.  514. 
,  Lieut. -Col.  T.   F.,  i.  128,  129, 

401. 
Kenny,  Colonel,  ii.  385. 
Kent,   Sir  Stephenson   H.,   K.C.B., 

i.  363. 
Kentish,  Brig.-Gen.  R.  J.,  C.M.G., 

D.S.O.,  ii.  202,  204,  412. 
Konyon,    Maj.-Gen.    E.    R.,    C.B., 

C.M.G.,  i.  526. 
Keogh,  Surg.-Gen.  Sir  A.,  G.C.B., 

G.C.V.O.,  i.  290. 
K<  ppel,     Admiral     Sir     Colin     R., 

K.C.I. !•:..  1\.C\  .()..  CM.,  D.S.O., 

ii.  516. 

,  Lady,  ii.  505,  516. 

,    Hon.    Sir    Derek,    G.C.V.O., 

I    M  C.   11.   322. 
,  Hon.    Geo..    M.\  .<>.,    i.    314  ; 

ii.  322.  324.  529. 
,  11..,,.    Mi    .    1  ..    ,rj     .    1.    '.'2,    '.II. 

102,  103,  lor,,  1 11,  1:1;,,  IQ6,  199. 
314,     106,     U2,    413,    431,    186  8. 


566 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


473-9,  495,  496,  572,  574,  575,  590; 
ii.  107,  130,  183,  195,  201,  232, 
235,  315,  324-5,  334,  340,  482, 
499,  502,  503,  507,  527. 

Keppel,  Miss  Sonia,  i.  314,  413  ;  ii. 
183,  344,  467,  469,  529. 

,  Miss  Violet,  i.   106,  314,  412, 

437,  575,  581  ;    ii.   183,  515. 

Kerensky,  M.,  ii.  37,  47,  78,  130, 
354    355. 

Kerr,  Mr.  Philip,  ii.  147,  148. 

Kerr-Clark,  Miss,  i.  604;  ii.  137, 
324,  345,  348. 

,  Mr.,  ii.  2,  3,  27. 

Kerry,  Countess  of,  ii.  514. 

Keyes,  Vice-Adm.  Sir  Roger  B., 
Bt.,  K.C.B.,  K.C.V.O.,  etc.,  ii. 
280,  286-91,  297,  300,  307,  465. 

Kiggell,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  L.  E., 
K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,  i.  61,  93,  100, 
265,  266,  421,  449,  534,  535,  539  ; 
ii.  101-4,  146,  173,  365. 

Kilmorey,  Countess  of,  i.  600. 

Kincaid-Smith,  Col.  K.  J.,  C.M.G., 
D.S.O.,  i.  73. 

King,  H.M.  the,  i.  52,  56,  69,  370, 
382,  414,  419,  436,  479,  526  ;  ii. 
130,  176,  260,  327,  328,  470,  502, 
511. 

King,  Newton,  K.M.,  ii.  454. 

Kipling,  Mr.  Rudyard,  ii.  298. 

Kitchener  of  Khartoum,  Field- 
Marshal  Earl,  K.G.,  K.P.,  etc., 
i.  20-22,  26,  29,  30,  34,  35,  37,  41, 
43,  46-8,  50-2,  54,  60,  63-9,  72, 
76-8,  81-3,  86,  91-3,  95,  96,  97-101, 
104,  105,  107,  110,  111,  113,  115, 
117-19,  127,  128,  133,  136,  138, 
140,  147,  152,  168,  170,  171  »., 
173,  178,  186,  187,  192,  198,  204, 
211,  212,  213,  215,  217,  277, 
291,  294,  303,  317,  318,  319,  325, 
350,  351,  364,  387,  432,  450,  451, 
461,  533,  581,  607,  610,  612,  ;  ii. 
14,  21,  51,  53,  176,  178,  194,  195, 
272,  278,  285,  510,  524,  528. 

Kitson,  Maj.  -  Gen.  Sir  Gerald 
Charles,  K.C.V.O.,  C.B.,  C.M.G., 
i.  289,  383,  459. 

,  Lady,  i.  289,  612. 

Klembovsky,  General,  ii.  47. 

Knatchbull-Hugessen,  Captain  the 
Hon.  M.  H.  R.,  M.C.,  i.  531. 

Knebworth,  Viscount,  ii.  50. 

Knight,     Mrs.     Laura,     A.R.W.S., 

D   d  n       ;:      n 

Knox,  Maj. -Gen.  Sir  Alfred,  K.C.B., 

C.M.G.,  i.  95  ;    ii.  37. 
,  Mr.  Gordon,  ii.  202. 


Knox,  Maj. -Gen.  Sir  A.  William  F., 

K.C.B.,  C.M.G.,  i.  128. 
Koltchak,  Admiral,  ii.  522,  526. 
Konrad  von  Hoetzendorff,  General, 

i.  226,  230,  233,  239. 
Korniloff,   General,   i.   608  ;    ii.   37, 

46-50,  355. 
Kovess,  General,  i.  224. 
Kressenstein,    General    Kress    von, 

i.  512  ;   ii.  116,  154,  155. 
Kuhlmann,   Herr   von,   i.    65,    199, 

433  ;   ii.  200,  247,  295. 
Kuropatkin,  General,  i.  225,  244  n. 
Kyasht,  Lydia  (Madame  Ragosin), 

i.  58,  59,  94,  125,  356  ;  ii.  48-50. 
Kyllmann,   Mr.    O.,   i.    386  ;    ii.    6, 

239. 


Lacaze,  Admiral,  i.  544. 
Laderchi,  General  Ruggeri,  i.  241. 
Lahovary,     H.E.    M.,    Mme.,    and 

daughters,  i.  254. 
Lake,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  Percy  H.  N., 

K.C.B.,    K.C.M.G.,    i.    105,    116, 

180,  187,  207,  594. 
Lalaing,    Count   and   Countess   de, 

i.  491. 
Lambert,  Rt.  Hon.  George,  M.P.,  ii. 

278. 
Lambourne,  Lord,  ii.  292. 
Lambton,  Hon.  George,  ii.  304. 
,    Maj.  -  Gen.      the    Hon.     Sir 

William,  K.C.B.,  C.M.G.,  C.V.O., 

D.S.O.,  i.  27,  540  ;  ii.  143. 
Lamington,         Lord,         G.C.M.G., 

G.C.I.E.,  ii.  165,  235,  304. 

,  Lady,  ii.  165,  304. 

Lamsdorff,  Count,  ii.  47. 

Langdon,  Father  Philip,  ii.  31,  371, 

372,  432,  441,  447,  449,  451. 
Lansbury,  Mr.  George,  M.P.,  ii.  242. 
Lansdowne,     Marquess     of,     K.G., 

etc.,  i.  2,  4,  13,  66,  104,  181,  217  ; 

ii.  25,  143,  144,  149. 
Lara,  Isidore  de,  i.  513. 
Larking,   Captain    Dennis,    C.M.G., 

R.N.,  i.  248,  310;  ii.  433,  434. 
Lascelles,   Lieut. -Colonel   Viscount, 

D.S.O.,  i.  491,  495;  ii.  260. 
,  Captain  the  Hon.  Edward  C, 

D.S.O.,  ii.  147. 

,  Hon.  Mrs.  E.  C,  ii.  147,  251. 

Lassiter,  Colonel,  i.  448. 

Laszlo  de  Lombos,  Mr.  Philip   A., 

H.R.B.A.,   R.S.P.P.,   i.    92,    108, 

211,  282,  375,  595,  620,  621  ;    ii. 

6,  32,  45,  58,  108,  109,  300. 
Laubart,  Mme.  Chasseloup,  ii.  306. 


NAME  INDEX 


567 


Laushlin.  Mr.   Irwin  B.,  i.   487  ;    ii. 

519,  520. 

.  Mrs.,  i.  487  ;    ii.  519. 

Laverv,  Sir  John.  Kt..  A.R.A..  etc.. 

i.  179,  279,  287.  343,  410  ;   ii.  283, 

501. 
,  Ladv.   i.    17'.'.   279,   410,   567, 

614  ;   ii.  243,  283,  501. 
Laviase,  M.  Ernest,  ii.  414. 
Law,     Rt.     Hon.      Andrew     Bonar. 

MP.,  i.  38.  39.  69,  102,  121,  L22, 

132,  133,  145.  187,  403,  106,  131, 

454.  461,  464,  485  ;    ii.   162,  242. 

256,    261,    276,    296-8.   318.    322, 

450,  156,   169,   168,   182. 
Lawford,    Maj.-Gen.    Sir   S.    T.    B.. 

K.C.B.,  ii.  202,  532. 
Lawrence,    General     the    Hon.    Sir 

Herbert    A..    K.C.B..   i.    382  j     ii. 

L59,  173.  174.  251,  363,  364,  365, 

367,   160,  461,  462. 

,  Colonel,  ii.  471. 

,  Sir  Walter  R..  Bart..  G.C.I. E., 

G.C.V.O.,  C.B..  i.  218. 
Lawson,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  Henry  M., 

K.C.B.,  i.   110,  179,  487,  488*;    ii. 

128. 
,     Captain     Robert     N.,     C.B., 

R.N..  i.  381. 
Lavcock,  Brig. -Gen.  Sir  Joseph  F., 

K.C.M.G..  D.S.O.,  ii.  184,  276. 
Lazzarini,  Lieutenant,  i.  220.  251. 
Learoyd,  Mr.,  ii.  198,  319. 
Ledochowsky,  Count   W.   L.,  ii.  210, 

211.  371.  446. 
L--<^.     Sir    Arthur    H.    (now    Lord), 

G.B.E..  K.C.B..  i.  »i4.  66,  67,  285, 

309,  319.  339,  340.  341,  342,  381, 

382,  454. 

■  I  hikf  of.  ii.  499. 

.Mrs.  W.  B.  [afterwards H.R.H. 

Princess  Christopher), L  02.  63,  68, 
71,  78,  80,  87,  89.  92,  153,  156, 
169,  17*.  203,  292.  293,  294,  300, 
301,  304,  309,  310,  31 1.  327,  331, 
403,  406,  111,  113,  424,  433,  436, 
438.  449,  459,  473,  478,  541,  550, 
5,  587,  590,  593, 
61 ».  618  ;  ii.  27,  32,  34,  37,  B6, 
97,  339,  368,  373.  383,  384,  387, 
102,  107,  11  1.  156, 

,  William,  1.  71. 

Leicester,  Countess  of,  i.  27'.'.  2'.'". 
lone!  « on.  and  wife,  i.  1  k  ; 

n.    11 

Lewhrnun,  Mr.  John  < ;.  A.,  and  Mr-  . 

1    106. 

Leith,  Lord,  of  I-  J  ■.  1-.  .1   1'  .   D.L.,  i. 

IT' 


1;,:;. 

156, 

253. 

303, 

557. 

558  ; 

211 

213. 

226. 

242, 

412. 

416. 

170. 

2:.  2. 

281, 


Leith,  Lady.  i.  473.  476. 
Leitrim,  Earl  of.  ii.  :*00. 
Leman,  General,  ii.  220.  221.  225. 
Lequio,  General,  i.  231.  232.  240-2. 
Le      l\o\    Lewis.    Colonel     Herman, 

C.B.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O..  i. 

166,  169,  170,  21s.  252. 

540,  511.  548,  660,  551. 

ii.  65,  (18.  72.  74,  77.  202, 

217.  218.  220.  221.  225, 

368.  400.    407.  409.  411. 
,   Mrs.,    i.    153,    156, 

2. -.3. 
Lesch.  General,  i.  245. 
Lesohitaky,  General,  i    245  ». 
Leslie,  Colonel  Sir  John,  Bt., 

593. 

,  Sir  John,  Bt.,  i.  111. 

,  Lady  Constance,  i.  111. 

,  Ladv.  1.  70.  74.  126.  281,  282, 

378,  388,  400,  404,  479,  507,  510, 

576,  593  ;    ii.   133,   143.  243,  251, 

294,  312,  343. 

,  Mr.  Sidney,  i.  388. 

,  Mr.  Stephen,  ii.  497. 

Letellier,  Mine.,  i.  551. 
Leveson-Gower,    Lady    Alistair 

C.  Sutherland-,  ii.  402. 
Lady     Rosemary    (now 

countess  Ednam),  ii.  372. 
Ley.  Mrs.,  i.  89. 
Lichnowskv,  Prince,  i.  433  ;    ii. 

491. 
Liebknecht,  Herr,  ii.  493. 
Limburg-Stirum,  Count,  i.  88. 
Lindsay,  Judge,  and  Mrs.,  ii.   264, 

267. 
-,  .Mrs.,  i.  452,  476,  498,  604. 

,  Miss,  i.  102  ;    ii.  144. 

Lipsett,  General,  ii.  218. 
Listor-Kave,  Sir  John,  Bt.,  D.L.,  i. 

573  ;    ii.  505,  513,  510. 

,  Lady,  ii.  505.  513,  516. 

Little,    Captain    Charles   James   C, 

C.B.,  R.N.,  ii.   19. 
Litvinov,  General,  i.  245. 
Loth,  Maj.-Gcn.  Lord,  »  ■  B. 

M.\  .()..  i.  28  ;    ii.  341. 
.  Lady,  1.  460. 

..    Mr..   1.    IIS''. 
LoiflJ  ,  M.,  ii.  89. 

Lombardi,  I  lenerai,  L  2  12. 
London,  Bishop  of,  ii.  23s. 
Londonderry,  Colonel  the  Marquess 

of.  K .<; ..'  L  371,  5ii7,  578,  601, 
602,  613;  ii  24,  26,  83,  I  13,  147, 
23".  266,  272.  270.  282,  283,  319, 
383,  334. 

,    Marchioness   of,    i.    130,   578, 


St. 
Vis- 


293, 


C.M.G. 


568 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


601  ;   ii.  22,  23,  25,  128,  133,  134, 

143,  230,  232,  252,  276,  300,  319, 

333,  334. 
Londonderry,  Theresa,  Marchioness 

of,  i.  371,  473,  567,  593,  610,  616  ; 

ii.    11,    133,  243,   251,  276,    296, 

298,  371,  465,  466,  499,  502,  505, 

508,511. 
Long,  Maj.-Gen.  S.  S.,  C.B.,  i.  400. 
,  Rt.    Hon.    Walter   H.,    M.P., 

etc.,  i.  97,  139,  303,  446  ;    ii.  31, 

252,  276,  319,  446,  493,  499,  500. 
,  Brig.-Gen.     Walter,     C.M.G., 

D.S.O.,  i.  399,  408,  446. 
,  The  Hon.  Mrs.  Walter,  i.  89, 

389,  399,  408,  446,  568  ;    ii.   68, 

69,  77,  201,  521. 
Longley,  Maj.-Gen.  John  R.,  C.B., 

C.M.G.,  ii.  115. 
Lonsdale,     Sir     John     (now     Lord 

Armaghdale),  and  Lady,  ii.  181-2. 
,  Earl  of,  i.   130,  131,  574  ;    ii. 

501. 

,  Countess  of,  ii.  130. 

Loreburn,  Earl,  G.C.M.G.,  i.  90. 
Loucheur,  M.,  i.  552,  557  ;    ii.   68, 

220. 
Loudon,  M.,  ii.  109. 
Loughborough,  Lady,  ii.  46,  515. 
Lovat,      Maj.-Gen.      Lord,      K.T., 

K.C.M.G.,  K.C.V.O.,  C.B.,  D.S.O., 

i.  178,  382,  557,  558  ;   ii.  64,  171, 

220,  372,  529. 

,  Lady,  ii.  298. 

Low,  Sir  Sidney  J.,  i.  248,  388. 
Lowther,     Maj.  -  Gen.     Sir     Henry 

Cecil,    K.C.M.G.,    C.B.,    C.V.O., 

D.S.O.,  i.  110,  127,  469,  490;   ii. 

106,  245. 

,  Lady,  i.  493  ;    ii.  254,  313. 

,  Rt.  Hon.  James  William,  M.P., 

and  Mrs.,  i.  129. 
— — ,  Captain  the  Hon.  Lancelot  E., 

D.L.,  ii.  417. 

. ,  Mrs.,  i.  129,  614  ;    ii.  345. 

,  Lieut.-Col.  Claude,  i.  46,  578. 

Lucas,  Brig.-Gen.  C.  H.  T.,  C.M.G., 

D.S.O.,  i.  558  ;    ii.  134,  139,  205, 

262,  345,  356. 

,  Mrs.,  ii.  139. 

Ludendorff ,  General,  i.  324  ;  ii.  462, 

469. 
Ludlow,  Lord,  i.  410  ;   ii.  515. 
Lugard,  Lady,  D.B.E.,  ii.  182,  316. 
Lumley,  Lady  Serena,  i.  305. 
Lurgan,  Lord,  K.C.V.O.,  i.  75,  201, 

288,  411,  437,  566,  572,  573,  575  ; 

ii.   201,  235,   304,   340,  469,  502, 

504. 


Lutyens,  Sir  Edwin  L.,  A.R.A.,  etc., 

i.  313,  400. 

,  Miss  Barbara,  i.  313. 

,  Mr.  Robert,  i.  313. 

Luxburg,  Count,  ii.  47. 

Luxemburg,  Rosa,  ii.  493. 

Luzzati,  Signora,  i.  244. 

Lvoff,  Prince";  i.  494. 

Lyall,  Captain  E.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  471. 

Lyautey,  General,  i.  415,  445,  482, 

487,  489,  492,  540,  551. 
Lynden-Bell,  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  Arthur, 

K.C.B.,     K.C.M.G.,     i.    272  ;    ii. 

116. 
Lyon,  Laurance,  M.P.,  ii.  368,  369. 
Lyttelton,     Hon.     Mrs.     Alfred,    i. 

477  ;   ii.  232. 
,  General    the    Rt.     Hon.    Sir 

Neville,  G.C.B.,  G.C.V.O.,  i.  12; 

ii.  411. 
Lytton,  Earl  of,  i.  76,  102,  313,  507, 

508,  600,  601  ;    ii.  8,  49,  50,  298, 

528. 
,  Countess  of,  i.   76,   102,   182, 

313,  468,  507,  508,  600,  601  ;  ii.  8, 

49,  50,  233,  298,  299,  528. 

McAdoo,  Mr.,  ii.  468. 

McAndrew,  General,  ii.  391. 

,  Colonel,  ii.  90. 

MacColl,  D.  S.,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  and 
Mrs.,  ii.  237,  389. 

McCracken, Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  F.  W.  N., 
K.C.B.,  D.S.O.,  i.  60. 

McCreery,  Mrs.,  i.  52,  57,  72,  76. 

Macdonald,  Ramsay,  i.  580,  592  ; 
ii.  8,  242. 

McDonnell,  Hon.  Alexander,  i.  83, 
424,  578,  602,  613,  619  ;  ii.  340, 
482. 

Macdonogh,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  George 
K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  i.  30,  37,  101, 
115,  139,  258,  277,  380,  433,  434, 
441,  449,  471,  501,  591  ;  ii.  14, 
110,  143,  281,  336,  400,  515,  525. 

McEvoy,  Mr.  Ambrose,  it  473,  476, 
600,  601  ;    ii.  6,  7. 

McFadden,  Mr.,  i.  375,  380. 

MacFarlane,  Brig.-Gen.  D.  A.,  C.B., 
D.S.O.,  i.  92. 

McGrigor,  Maj.-Gen.  Charles  R.  R., 
C.B.,  C.M.G.,  i.  140,  188. 

Machena,  Duchesse,  ii.  519,  521. 

McKenna,  Rt.  Hon.  R.,  M.P.,  i.  40, 
72,  99,  100,  103,  136,  301,  335, 
348-53,  360,  369,  431,  438,  440, 
450,  459,  482,  483,  491  ;  ii.  130, 
137,  177,  195,  198,  232,  235,  282, 
313-15,  346,  471,  506,  528. 


NAME  INDEX 


569 


McKenna,    Mrs.     Reginald,    i.    348, 

368.  369.   459.   57.".;   ii.    130,    137, 

177.  195,  198,  232,  236,  282,  316, 

471,  52S. 
Mackensen,    General,    i.    131.    138, 

346,  354.  357.  384.  392,  400  ;    ii. 

34. 
Mackenzie,   Maj.-Gen.   Sir  Colin  J., 

K.C.B..  ii.  269. 

,  Mr.  F.  E.,  i.  112  ;   ii.  503. 

,  Sir  Victor  A.   F..  Bt..  D.S.O.. 

M.V.O.,  i.  614. 
Mackinnon,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  William 

H.,  G.C.B..  K.C.V.O..  i.   136. 
Macleay.JamesW.  R..r.M.G..i.  411. 
McLaren,     Hon.      Henry     Duncan. 

C.B.E.,  MP.,  i.  63. 

,  The  Hon.  Mrs.,  i.  63  ;    ii.  346. 

Macnamara,   Kt.    Hon.   Thomas  J., 

M.P.,  etc..  i.  395. 
McLeod,  Fredk.  Henry,  C.B.,  i.  434. 
McMahon,    Lieut. -CoL    Sir   Henry, 

G.C.M.G..      G.C.V.O..      K.C.I.E., 

etc..  i.  101,  105,  140,  353. 
McMunn,     Maj.-Gen.     Sir     George, 

K.C.B.,  K.C.S.L,  D.S.O.,  i.    356, 

480. 
McNeill,   Mr.    Ronald.    Ml'.,    i.    75. 

471,  604. 
Macpherson,    Rt.    Hon.    Ian,    M.P., 

11.   127,  181. 
Macreadv.   Gen.    Sir  (C.   F.)   Nevil, 

G.C.M.G..     K.C.B.,    i.     121.     122. 

185,  186.  197,  290,  303,  347.  360, 

364-6,   424-6.   458,   473,   499  ;     ii. 

269,  320,  468,  460,  486,  527. 
ftlcVioker,  .Mr.,  ii  :;27. 
Mapuire,  Mr.  James  Rochfort.C.B.E., 

i.    114,    116,   279,   280.   452.   612, 

814;    11.   144,   181,  235,  298,  319, 

34'",  356,  494,  502,  505,  529. 
,  Hon.   Mrs.,  i.    102,   279,   280, 

297,  428,  436,  452.  til 2,  614;    ii. 

181,  196,  235.  298,  319,  340,  356, 

494.  502,  606,  529. 
Mahon,    Lieut.  Gen.    Rt.    Hon.    Sir 

Bryan,  K.C.B.,  K.C.V.O.,  D.S.O., 

1.  82.  105,  279,  881  ;   ii  311,  313, 

366. 
Malagodi,  Dr.,  ii.  428,  433,  442,   I  16, 

453. 
Malcolm,     Maj.-Gen.       Neill,      CM., 

D.8.O.,  1.  526. 

,  Mr.    Ian    '/..,    K.t'.M .('..,    M.l'., 

i.  218,  487  ;    ii 
Mall.-t.  Rt.   Hon.  Sir  Louii  du   P., 

G  I    M.G.,    I    B.,    1.    98,    282, 

348  ;    n.  463. 
lielleterre,  Gonoral,  i.  136. 


Malmesbury,  Earl  of.  D.L.,  ii.  527. 
Bfalone,  Colonel,  ii.  90. 

,  Mr.,  i.  5S2. 

Malvy,  M..  ii.  77,  220. 
Mambretti.  General,  i.  240  11. 
Manchester,  Duchess  of,  ii.  526. 
Mandel,    M.    Georges,    ii.    373.    382, 

384-7,  396,  401-7,  466-7,  169,  460, 

492,  539. 
Mangin,   General,   i.    543,   556  ;     ii. 

74.  358.  375.  381,  536,  537. 

.  Mmc,  ii.  536. 

Manley,  Major,  ii.  389. 
Mannermann,  General,  ii.   517. 
Manners,   Lady,  i.  619. 
.  Lady  Diana,   i.   68.    194.    195, 

312,  335,  368,  428,  508  ;    ii.   232. 

233,  264,  265,  328,  345,  521,  529. 
Manning,     Brig.-Gen.     Sir    William 

Henrv,   K.C.M.G..   K.B.E.,  C.B., 

ii.  08. 
Manuel.  H.M.  King,  i.  29,  302,  343; 

ii.  13.  489,  490,  504. 
Mar  and  Kellie,  Earl  of,  i.  616  ;    ii. 

4,  14,  26,  343. 
,  Countess     of,     i.     279,     280, 

614,  616  ;    ii.  2-4,   11.    14.  23,  26, 

176,  195,  197,  198,  201,  232,  343. 

499,  501,  502. 
Marafini,  General,  i.   477. 
March,    General     Peyton,    ii.     227, 

349. 
Marchetti,  General,  i.  228.  229. 
Marconi,     Senatoro      Guglielmo, 

G.C.V.O.,    LL.D,    D.Sc,   ii.    494. 

521. 
.Margerie,  M.,  ii.  402. 
Markham,  Sir  Arthur,  M.P.,  i.  63  ; 

293,  300. 
Marlborough,  Duke  of,  P.C.,   ELG., 

ii.  326. 
.  Duoheae  of,  L   143,  327,  379, 

397,  399,  ill.  4  17.  567,  601,  613j 

ii.   27,  28,  232.  354. 
Marling,  Sir  Charles  M.,  K.C.M.G., 

C.B.,  n.  257,  514 

,  Lady,  ii.  514,  515. 

Marlowe,  Mr.    Thomas,    L    374,    122, 

430;   ii.   126. 
Marah,    Edward    ll..   C.B.,   C.M.G., 

i.  325  ;    n.  36,  527. 
Marshall.  Mr.   Edward,  1.    HI.   142. 

177. 
,  Mi,..  1     104. 

,  Lieut.  •General    Sir    William, 

G.C.M.G.,  is  O.B.,  K.C  9  l..  ii. 
147.  249,  263,  21.7. 

Ma,  ball  Hall.  Bir  B  .  K.C.,  M.l'., 
11.  166. 


570 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Martin,  Mr.,  ii.  8. 

Martino,  Signor  di,  ii.  385,  428,  435, 
444,  445. 

Marwitz,  General  von  der,  ii.  367. 

Mary,  H.R.H.  Princess,  ii.  511. 

Mason,  Mr.,  ii.  507. 

Massereene  and  Ferrard,  Major 
Viscount,  D.S.O.,  ii.  515,  516,  521. 

,  Viscountess,   i.    410,   566 ;    ii. 

230,  240,  257,  282,  294,  299,  304, 
316,  319,  327,  341,  347,  353,  356, 
495,  501,  503,  505,  513,  515,  518, 
521,  525,  529. 

Massingham,  Mr.  Henry  William,  i. 
375,  389  ;  ii.  231,  232,  303,  467. 

Masterton-Smith,  James  E.,  C.B., 
i.  468,  513. 

Matheson,  Maj.-Gen.  George,  C.B., 
C.M.G.,  and  Mrs.,  ii.  343. 

Mattheson,  Miss  Beatrice,  ii.  232. 

Maude,  Gen.  Sir  F.  Stanley,  K.C.B., 
C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  i.  135,  356,  494, 
561,  564,  565  ;  ii.  138,  139,  480, 
483,  484,  497,  502,  504,  513,  514, 
568,  585,  593,  594,  600;  ii.  30, 
37,  53,  57,  61,  110,  115,  116,  117, 
118,  124,  147. 

Maunoury,  General,  ii.  216. 

Maurice,  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  Frederick  B., 
K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  i.  93,  307,  308, 
309,  321-3,  377,  388,  409,  410, 
415,  416,  426,  464-6,  468,  481, 
482,  496-7,  503,  518,  561,  570,  571, 
608  ;  ii.  14,  33,  54-8,  64,  94,  144, 
157,  234,  281,  296-9,  300-3,  306, 
312,  339,  340,  346,  461,  509. 

,  Lady,  ii.  300,  301,  339. 

Max-Muller,  Wm.  G.,  C.B.,  M.V.O., 
i.  108,  114,  147,  435,  477,  599, 
615  ;  ii.  26,  271,  312,  491,  492, 
513,  521. 

Maxse,  Mr.  Ernest  G.  B.,  C.M.G., 
F.R.G.S.,  ii.  295. 

,  Lieut.-Gen.  Sir  Ivor,  K.C.B., 

C.V.O.,  D.S.O,,  i.  460  ;  ii.  265,  268, 
269. 

,  Lady,  i.  460. 

,  L.  J.,  ii.  313,  356,  531. 

Maxwell,  General  the  Rt.  Hon.  Sir 
John,  G.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,  C.V.O., 
D.S.O.,  i.  82,  93,  101,  105,  140, 
381. 

,  Lieut.-Gen.    Sir    R.,    K.C.B., 

K.C.M.G.,  i.  274,  338,  339,  340. 

May,  Mr.,  i.  120. 

Maze,  Major,  ii.  357. 

Meauvey,  Baronne  de,  ii.   144. 

Mecca,  Sherif  of,  i.  346. 

Melba,  Mme.,  D.B.E.,  ii.  524,  526. 


Mends,  Brig.-Gen.  Horatio,  C.B.,  i. 

305. 
Mensdorff,  Count,  i.   433  ;    ii.   205, 

210,  211,  491. 
Mercer,   Maj.-Gen.   Sir  Harvey  F., 

K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  i.  531,  533. 
Mercier,  Cardinal,  ii.  447. 
Meredith,  William  M.,  i.  386 ;    ii.  6, 

239. 
Merry  del  Val,  H.E.  Serior  Don,  and 

Madame,   i.    129,    130,    199,   200, 

293,  406,  410,  566  ;    ii.  258,  313, 

316,  317,  318,  341,  507,  511,  514, 

515. 
Metcalfe,  Sir  C.  H.  T.,  Bt.,  C.E.,  i. 

89. 
Methuen,  Lieut,  the  Hon.  Paul  A., 

i.  524. 
Meux,    Admiral    of    the   Fleet   the 

Hon.      Sir     Hedworth,      G.C.B., 

K.C.V.O.,   i.    145,    390,   400;    ii. 

199,  261,  467. 
,  Hon.  Lady,  i.   145,  343,  390, 

400,  614  ;    ii.  298,  467,  469. 
Meyer,    Sir    William    S.,    G.C.I.E., 

K.C.S.I.,  i.  325. 
Michael,  H.I.H.  the  Grand  Duke,  i. 

69,  195,  196,  383,  411,  443,  496, 

587,  588  ;    ii.  2,  176. 
Michaelis,  Dr.,  i.  619,  620. 
Michiels  van  Verduijnen,  Jonkheer 

F.,  i.  64,  88,  108,  477  ;   ii.  356. 
Midleton,    Viscount,    K.P.,    i.    127, 

330,  331,  347  ;    ii.  315,  318,  337, 

505,  515. 
,  Viscountess,  ii.  315,  316,  337, 

505,  515. 
Mildmay,  Lieut. -Col.  the  Rt.  Hon. 

Francis  Bingham,  M.P.,  ii.  152. 
Miles,     Lieut.-Gen.      Sir      Herbert 

S.  G.,  G.C.B.,  etc.,  i.  354,  355  ;  ii. 

60. 
Miliukoff,  M.,  i.  496. 
Millar,  Miss  Gertie,  ii.  6. 
Miller,  Mr.  William,  ii.  443. 
Millerand,    M.,    i.    89,    171  n.,    255, 

486,  559. 
Millet,  M.  Philippe,  i.  218  ;  ii.  76,  202. 
Milne,  Lieut.-Gen.  Sir  George  Fran- 
cis, G.C.M.G.,  K.C.B.,  D.S.O.,  i. 

354,  357,  385,  429, 478, 600;  ii.  127. 
Milner,  Viscount,  G.C.B.,  G.C.M.G., 

i.  215,  383,  418-20,445,  466,  477, 

485,   489,   495,   496  ;    ii.    29,   32, 

106,  143,  161,  204,  221,  225,  229, 

235,  252,  276,  280,  281,  284,  305, 

311,  313,  317,  358,  371,  403,  406, 

461. 
Minto,  Earl  of,  i.  83. 


NAME  INDEX 


5/i 


Mint.  L  83,  1-4. 

Mirbaoh,  Count,  ii.  336. 

:  ivitoh,  M.  and  Mmi  .,  L 

Mitchel,  Mr.,  i. 

Mitchell,  Mr.,  ii  264,  267. 

Moir,  Sii  Ernest  William,  I'.t..  i.  338. 

Mnla.  Colonel,  i.  812,  613,  619,  620  : 
h.  '.  I,  109,  11". 

Moltke,  Genera]  von,  ii.  169,  427. 

Molyneux,  Major  the  Hon.  Richard 
■ 

■  13. 
Maj.-Gen.      Sir      John, 
Q.C.M.G.,  rL<    .:  .  i  to.,  ii.  612. 

Monoreiff,  Lieut  .  R.N.,  i.  289. 

Monk.  Mr.,  ii.  344 

Monro,  General  sir  Charles  Car- 
miohael,  c.c.K.  G.C.S.I., 
G.C.M.G..  etc,  i.  49,  67,  69,  82, 
83.  91,  116,  192,  269,  270,  278, 
286,  317,  326,  334  336,  585,  593, 
594,  595,  600  ;  ii.  7,  51,  110-15, 
170,  310,  326,   185. 

,  Lady.  i.  334 

Montagu,  Lord  Charles  (William  A.), 
C.V.O.,eto.,  i.  283,  413,  438,587  ; 
ii.  195,  244. 

,  Rt.  Hon.    Edwin  S..   M.P.,  i. 

15,  328,  362,  378,  462,  476-6, 
482-3,  491,  506,  571,  575,  (303, 
5,  619  ;  ii.  6,  50  2,  232,  310, 
315,  319,  324.  325,  328,  446,  506, 
528. 

,  Hon.    Mrs.    (Edwin),    i.    211, 

314.   462,   475.   482,   566;    ii.   50, 
51,   52.   232,   310,   315,   319,   324, 
S       528. 

,  Mrs.  (Margaret),  i.  202. 

Montagu-Stuart-Wortloy,  Maj.-Gen. 
the  Hon.  Sir  Alan  R.,  K.C.M.G., 
C.B.,  D.S.O.,  i.  338,  342,  414,  428, 
44'.. 

,  Maj.-Gen.   the  Hon.  Edward, 

C.B.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  M.V.O.,  i. 
129,  400. 

M.uitobello,   Countess  do,   i.   254. 

MontL'om-rv.  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  Archi- 
bald A.,K.<  M.G.,  C.B.,  D.S.O., 
etc.,  i.  524  ;  ii  366,  531, 

Montmorency,  Major  Hc-rv6G.  F.E., 
D.8.O.,  ii  27. 

Mout ii. u i.  < leneral,  i.  241. 

Mooi.,  Mi-     hi  lima,  ii.  217,  531. 

, Mr.  George,  i  ill,  116,   122, 

127,  188,  204,  342. 

,  ( 'omiiiiiiidi  r,    ii.    519, 

Mi       i    1 19,  689    591. 
lacq,    General,    ii     179,     382, 

Vol..    If. 


.1.  Mr.  J.  P..  i.  369  :    ii.  257. 
,    Professor     John     Rartman, 

M.A..  Btafl  Captain,  i.  388,  3£  I, 

575,  610  :    ii.  277.  354 
Morland,     Lieut. -Gen.    Sir    Thomas 

L.  N\.  K.c.r...    K.c.M .<...  D.S.O., 

i.  262,  268  :  ii.  535. 
Morley,  Major,  ii.  277. 
.    John.    Viscount    Morley    of 

Blackburn,  0  M..  etc.,  ii.  244 
Morny,  1  Nio  de,  ii.  226. 

A.   i.    2  12. 
mer,  Major,  i.  389. 
Morton.  Countess  of,  i.  615. 
Morton's  school,  i.  71. 
Moselev.  General,  ii.   3s1.". 
Mosley,  Oswald    E.,   MP.,    ii.   518, 

526. 
Mossolin,  General,  i.   2  11. 
Motono,  M,  i.  442,  443,  471. 
Mozley,  Miss,  ii.    Hi. 
Mudra,  General  von,  ii.  3  1 1. 
Muirhead,  Dr.  James  P.,  ii.  348. 
Murdoch,  Mr.  K.  A.,  i.  374. 
Murray,  General   Sir  Archibald  J., 

G.C.M.G.,  K.C.B.,  etc.,  i.  27,  34, 

35,  49,  50,  58.  61,  63,  70,  76,  80, 

83,   84,   88,   90-3,    100,    101,    118. 

183.  186,  190,  197,  204,  207.  272. 

288,  314.  353,  358,  372,  382,  385, 

392,   400,    401,   418,   422,    434-6, 

441,  457,  480,  482,  484,  490,  493. 

502,  504,  507,  511,  513,  514,  561, 

563,  565,  568,  577,  578,  580,  600, 

605.    610,    614,    615,    617  ;     ii.    2, 

8-10,   31,   50,   66,    125,    195,    196, 

500. 
,     Lady    (Archibald),     i.     401, 

422,  441,  490,  502,  507,  566,  57  7, 

614  ;   ii.  195. 
,  Lieut.-Col.  the  Hon.  Arthur  C, 

M.P.,  i.  383,  479. 
,  Col.    Arthur   Mordaunt,   CMC, 

M.V.O.,  i.  123. 

,  Sir  Eric,  i.  578. 

,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  George  Herbert, 

G.C.B.,  i.  123,  299,  300,  371  ;    ii. 

141,  528. 
,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  James  Wolfe, 

K.C.B.,  i.  22. 
,  Mrs.,  i.  101  ;  ii.  354. 

Nabok.-i  i  ,  M,  i.  379,  380,  437,  438, 
439,  4  id,  4)1.4  12,  448,  468,  495, 
496,  497,  500,  60S,  5lo,  541,  57-., 
577  ;    ii.    37,    47,    141,    142,    177, 

Napier,  \  io  Idm.  sir  T.  I>  \\  . 
K.C.B.,  M  \  <>.,  i, 


a . 


572 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Nares,  Mr.  Owen,  i.  116. 

Newton,    Lord,    D.L.,    i.    218  ;    ii. 

295. 
Nicholas,  H.I.H.  the  Grand  Duke,  i. 
78,  94,  119,  126,  182,  187,  190,  191, 
193,  197,  200,  207,  244,  353,  509. 
Nicholl,  Lieut.  -  Col.  Charles,  ii. 
528. 

,  Mr.  Henry,  i.  339. 

Nicholson,      Field-Marshal      Lord, 
G.C.B.,  i.  327,  360. 

,  Brig. -Gen.    Graham    H.    W., 

C.M.G.,  ii.  536. 

,  Mr.  Harold,  ii.  542. 

,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  i.  314. 

Nicol,  Brig. -Gen.  Lewis  L.,  C.B.,  i. 

357,  423. 
Nivelle,  General,  i.  408.  409,  415, 
431,  433,  434,  438,  445,  449,  458, 
465,  466,  466  n.,  482,  483,  486, 
488,  489,  499,  507,  514,  533,  540, 
547,  549,  550,  551,  553, 561, 562  n., 
565,  567  ;  ii.  14,  68,  77,  175,  206, 
207,  250,  387,  540. 
Nixon,  General  Sir  John  E.,  K.C.B., 

i.  101,  287,  320,  325. 
Noailles,  Count  Charles  de,  i.   370, 
433,  498,  499,  507,  619  ;  ii.  2,  241, 
254,  279,  280,  299,  304,  305,  334, 
347,  356,  501,  530. 
Nolan,  General,  ii.  90,  92,  389,  392, 

490. 
Norie,   Major  Frank  Hay,   D.S.O., 

ii.  98. 
Norreys,  Lady,  i.  102. 
North,  Mr.  Charles,  i.  76. 

,  Mr.  Dudley,  i.  338. 

Northcliffe,  Viscount,  i.  41,  52,  53, 
54,  63,  78,  109,  112,  115,  124,  136, 
144,  145,  177,  266,  283,  294,  331, 
338,  340,  341,  354,  359,  360,  361, 
370,  374,  422,  427,  428,  429,  430, 
459,  460,  468,  475,  479,  497,  500, 
565,  570,  584,  590  ;  ii.  126,  149, 
164,  181,  188,  241,  245,  278,  503, 
517. 

,  Lady,  i.  338  ;   ii.  143. 

Northland,  Viscount,  i.  312. 
Northumberland,    Duke    of,    i.    27, 

143  ;   ii.  5,  314. 
Norton,   Robert   F.,   C.B.E.,   K.C., 
ii.  339. 

,  Captain,  R.N.,  i.  411,412,434, 

444,  446. 
— — ,  Hon.  Katharine,  ii.  240,  283, 
353,  356. 

,  Mrs.,  ii.  199,  349,  354. 

Nunburnholme,  Lady,  i.  413  ;  ii. 
257,  501,  502. 


O'Beirne,  Mr.,  i.  59,  98,   102,   103, 

203,  212,  213. 
O'Bryen,  Mr.,  i.  105. 
O'Connor,  Mr.  T.  P.,  M.P.,  i.    457, 

503. 
Oliver,  Captain,  ii.  218. 
,  Vice-Adm.  Sir  H.  F.,  K.C.B., 

K.C.M.G.,   M.V.O.,   i.    192,    193  ; 

ii.  191. 
Ollivant,  Lieut. -Col.  A.  H.,  C.M.G., 

i.  319,  320,  321. 
Ollivier,  M.,  ii.  490. 
O'Neill,  Mr.,  ii.  334. 
,  Mrs.,  i.  311,  370,  566  ;   ii.  2,  3, 

306,  313. 
Orazza's,  i.  251. 
Orestis,  Major  di,  i.  242. 
Orlando,  Signor,  ii.   444,   449,   453. 

456,  492,  513,  519,  521,  522,  542. 
Orleans,  Due  d',  ii.  77. 
Orloff,  Prince,  i.  94. 
Ormonde,  Marchioness  of,  ii.  499. 
Orpen,  Major  Sir  William,  K.B.E., 

A.R.A.,  i.  574  ;    ii.  298. 
1  Orth,  General,  i.  356. 
Osborne,  Mr.  Bernal,  ii.  493. 
,  Captain  Smythe,  R.N.A.S.,  ii. 

184. 
Outhwaite,  Mr.  Robert  L.,  M.P.,  i. 

473. 
Oxenden,  Mr.  Basil,  ii.  341. 
Oxley,  Brig. -Gen.    R.  S.,    C.B.,    r. 

184. 

Page,  H.E.  Dr.  W.  H.  and  Mrs., 
i.  78,  279,  410,  448,  473,  616,  617  ; 
ii.  55,  520. 

Paget,  Lady  Muriel,  O.B.E.,  i.  389 ; 
ii.  348,  349. 

,  Captain     Albert     E.     S.     L., 

M.V.O.,  i.  62,  69,  397,  398,  399, 
402,  587  ;   ii.  55,  528. 

,  Hon.  Almeric  H.,  M.P.   (now 

Lord  Queenborough),  i. '72,  76. 

1  ,  General  the  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Arthur 

Henry  Fitzroy,  G.C.B.,  K.C.V.O., 
i.  57,  58,  60,  61,  76,  80,  102,  103, 
110,  111,  120,  121,  122,  124,  145, 
147,  148,  178,  179,  195,  279,  292, 
311,  344,  370,  376,  397-8,  402,  406, 
428,  482-3,  517,  518  ;  ii.  2-4,  55, 
158,  172,  176,  182-4,  293,  333, 
528. 

,  Lady,  i.  57,  58,  60,  63,  68,  69. 

75,  78,  80,  86,  89,  95,  98,  102,  106, 
107,  108,  109,  120,  275,  304,  309. 
335,  344,  360,  369,  383,  397,  402, 
406,  411,  413,  428,  430,  435,  438. 
450,  473.  478,  482.  511.  565,  567, 


NAME  INDEX 


573 


578,  581.  587.   588.  614.  616  ;    ii. 

2.  3.  32.  55,  86,  87,  176,  177.  195, 

19S,  801,  234.  237.  24  1.  254,  281, 

293,  302.  31.-..  323.  333.  335,  348, 
513,  514.  527.  543. 
Paget.  Admiral  Sir  Alfred,   K.<    B., 

K.C.M.G..  D.S.O.,  ii.  198. 
,  Captain   Arthur  George,  i.  59, 

76,  80,    283,  311,  343,   369.    387, 

406  ;   ii.  56. 

,  Sir  Ralph  Spencer,  K.C.M.G., 

I    \    <)..  i.    102.  435. 
,  Ladv  (Ralph),  G.B.E.,  ii  5;,. 

435. 

.  Captain  Wyndham  Reginald, 

i.  :,.'.  76,  80,  147.  283,  31  l.  343, 
j    |         ■'      ;;.  55,  313, 

Pain.  Brig. -Gen.  Sir  G  ge  Banket, 
K.B.E.,    C.B.,    i.    281,    420  :      ii. 

Paine.  Major,  ii. 

.    Maj.-Gen.    Sir    Godfrey   M.. 

K .C.B.,  M.V.o..  ii.  326,  336,  478. 

,  Ladv  (Godfrey),  ii.  478. 

Painleve,  M ..  L  133,  488,  514,  540. 

641,    542,    544,    545,    650,    551, 

55::  -       ''<.  580  :    ii  ■"• 

59.  72,7 

80,  83,   100,    105,    108,   206,   207. 

215,  218,  242.  387,  401. 
Pakenhani.   Vioe-Adm.    Sir   Wm.C, 

B  I  .B ..  K.(  .\'.<)..i.  208;  ii.  22,23. 
Pallavicino,  Captain  Count  Vioino, 

-.  ft,  ii.  :  •  - 
Panouse,  Genera]  theVicoml 
i.  81  2,  338,  434, 

619  ;    ii.  185,  186,  3< 

:.    610  ;    ii. 
527. 
Parker,  Mr.,  i. 

,  Colonel,  i.  iTi. 

rt,  St.,  i. 

142  J    ii.   152. 

j.t.-iin,  ii.  87. 

Panlton,  Mr.  Barry,  ii  14 1. 

1  \r.  Ion  'i.  Mni'-..  ii.  7. 

l'a\  lovitol  I  >mitri,  ii. 

614, 

:..     i:..    n.     1 

Sir  Arthur,  Bt.,  G.B.E.,  ii 

G.E.,  ii 
516. 

,  Lady  !>•  lia,  ii 

.  Bon.  A  ■  .   MI'.,  ii 

.     ■•>:,   .-,1:1 

,  l 

1MI-,  General,  L   163    154,  166,  187, 


218,  219,  256,  378,  402,  409;  ii. 
265,  268. 

Pembroke,  Countess  of,  C.B.E.,  i. 
61,  73.  145.  188,  293,  337,  381. 
380,  387,  4  12.  4  17.  452,  480,  636, 
616;  ii.  48,  60,  62,  141,  142.  144. 
198,  232.  2  12.  243,  245,  348,  100. 
487,  501. 

.Lieut. -Col.  the  Earl  of.  M.V.O  . 

73.  145.  147.  381.  417.  152.  530, 
613  :  ii.  62,  l  11.  142,  188,  242, 
243,  245,  278.  loo,  401,  402,  487. 

Pennoyer,  Mr.  Richard  E..  i.  616. 

Penrhyn,  Colonel  Lord,  i.  338. 

Pernot,  Lieutenant,  i.  153,  156,  157, 
158.  103.  168,  188.  253.  256,  258, 
310.  387.  388,  389.  488,  507,  561, 
585.  586,  687  ;    ii.  69,  369. 

Perrere,  MM.,  ii  382,  384. 

lVr.-hiim.  General  John  .L.  (J.C.B  , 
i.  582,  583.  584.  585  ;  ii.  3,  ■"•• 
59,  72,  86,  87,  88,  89.  90,  91.  92. 
93,  94,  96,  101,  103,  104,  1  17.  175, 
196,  209.  227,  303.  334,  335,  336, 
338.  353.  35S,  383,  364,  368,  371, 
378,  380  388,  389,  390,  391.  394. 
398,  39S  1"."..  159,  170,  472.  473. 
187    543,  546,  546,  547. 

Petain.  Marshal,  i.  163,  165,  157. 
158,  159,  160.  253,  5  1  1.  517.  540, 
541,    512.    543,    5117.    548,    548, 

550.  551,  552.  553.   555.   550,  557, 

558.   559,  50o.  502  „..   567, 
585,  589,  590,  612,  618,  619  :    ii. 

1  1.  28,  33,  40,  5o.  56,  57.  58,  6  >, 
61,  68,  68,  72,  7  1.  79,  80,  81,  82, 
83,  84,  85,  8  I,  91,  93,  98,  101,  103, 

107,  132.  150.  158.  150,  102,  108, 
173.  175.  178.  188,  I1'!.  L96,  203, 
204,  2o7.  221.  222.  223,  225,  23o. 

2  10  ».,   250,    252.   257.   263,   266, 

288,  336,  338,  346,  368,  371. 
373.  378.  370.  380,  381,  382,  385, 
387.  397,  120.  488,  538,  640,  541. 

I   .ti.t.::!!    Ralph,   i.    85. 

,  lira,,  i.  85.  L02,   L26,  L94  ;   ii. 

130.  241,  519,  52.'. 

;    William  Eliot, 

BLi  .!-,  .  k  c  \  0.,  D.8.O.,  ii  535. 
Phillips,  Colonel  Q  Vi       r.C.B., 

<M  <:  .  ii,   17.  18. 
Phip]  193,  389) 

.  Mi.  Eric  L  256. 
1  bini,  General,  i  240,  241. 

Pichon,  M..  ii  369,  -09. 

1  \1..  ii  471. 

1  m,   ii.,   ii 

Piloner,   liaj.-l  len.  Xhomai   1  )§i%  id< 

1    1;  .  i   303. 


574 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Pitt-Taylor,  Colonel  W.  W.,  C.M.G., 

D.S.O.,  i.  524. 
Piatt,  Mr.  Comyn  T.,  ii.  139,  527. 
Plumer,  Field-Marshal  Lord,  G.C.B., 

G.C.M.G.,  G.C.V.O.,  i.  271,  575, 

581,  603,  606  ;    ii.  50,  54,  55,  99, 

100,  132,  133,  162,  201,  234,  275, 

281,  291,  297,  341,  464,  486,  489, 

525. 
Plunkett,  Count,  i.  451. 
,  Rt,     Hon.     Sir     Horace     C, 

K.C.V.O.,  etc.,  ii.  277, 
Pobiedonotseff,  M.,  i.  496. 
Poincare,  President,  i.  544,  562  ;   ii. 

73,  84,  224,  242,  313. 
Poklevsky,  M.,  ii.  499,  543. 
Polignac,   Vicomte   de,    i.    165  ;     ii. 

396. 
Polivanoff,  M.,  i.  148. 
Pollen,  Lieut.-Col.  S.  H.,  C.M.G.,  ii. 

8,  9. 
Ponsonby,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Frederick 

E.  G.,  K.C.B.,  K.C.V.O.,  i.  73,  74, 

114,  123,  203,  409,  482,  488,  572  ; 

ii.  258,  469,  476,  492,  505. 

,  Lady,  i.  114,  123,  203,  505. 

Poole,  Mr.  R.,  ii.  230,  233,  344. 
Porch,  Mr.  Montagu,  ii.  312. 
Porro,  General,  i.  229,  230,  231  ;   ii. 

33. 
Portal,    Lieut.-Col.    Wyndham   R., 

D.S.O.,  i.  101. 
Portarlington,  Countess  of,  i.  292. 
Portman,  Mrs.,  i.  72. 
Portsmouth,  Earl  of,  i.  508. 
Portugal,  H.M.  King  Manuel  of,  i. 

29,  288,  302,  343  ;  ii.  13,  489,  490, 

504. 
,  H.M.  Queen  Amelie  of,  i.  343 ; 

ii.  253. 
Powerscourt,  Viscountess,  i.  446. 
Poynder,   Hon.   Joan,   i.    567,   602, 

603  ;   ii.  7,  232,  345,  346. 
Pratab  Singh,  General  Sir,  G.C.B., 

G.C.S.I.,  G.C.V.O.,  i.  525. 
Pratt,    Brig. -Gen.    E.    St.    George, 

C.B.,  D.S.O.,  i.  269. 

,  Mr.,  i.  127. 

Prescott,  Sir  Geo.,  Bt.,  i.  461. 
Primrose,  Hon.  Neil,  ii.  156. 
Pringle,  W.  M.  R.,  M.P.,  ii.  140,  482. 
Pritchard,  Brig.-Gen.,  ii.  321. 
Prothero,    Dr.     George   W.,    M.A., 

Litt.D.,   Hon.    LL.D.,    etc.,    and 

Mrs.,  i.  289,  576. 
,  Rowland    Edmund,    M.V.O., 

M.P.,  ii.  252. 
Prud'hommo,  Commandant,  i.  175, 

176. 


Pulteney,  Lt.-Gen.  Sir  William  P.. 
K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,  K.C.V.O., 
D.S.O.,  i.  260-2,  525  ;  ii.  158,  162, 
163,  471. 

,  Lady,  ii.  158,  162,  163,  471. 

Quartermaine,  Mr.  Leon,  ii.  517. 
Quast,  General  von,  ii.  271,  367. 
Queen,  Her  Majesty  the,  i.  57.  109, 

307;   ii.  502,  511. 
Queenborough,   Lord.   ii.   258,   283, 

284,  353,  513. 

Radcliffe,  Brig. -General  Charles 
Delme,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  C.V.O.,  i. 
210,  214,  221,  222,  223,  224,  229, 
231,  233,  243,  248,  249,  250,  282, 
283,  286  ;   ii.  109,  416. 

,  Maj.-Gen.    P.    de    B.,    C.B., 

D.S.O.,  i.  532  ;    ii.  281. 

Raddatz,  General,  i.  598. 

Radkievic,  General,  i.  245  n. 

Radziwill,  Prince  and  Princess,  i, 
593,  604,  612  ;   ii.  2,  221. 

Raemakers,  Dr.  Louis,  i.  574. 

Ragosa,  General,  i.  245  n. 

Ragosin,  Captain,  i.  59  ;   ii.  49. 

Ramsey,  Lord  de,  ii.  304,  479. 

,  Lady  de,  ii.  478-9. 

Ranken,  Mr.,  ii.  6. 

Raouf  Bey,  ii.  477. 

Rasputin,  i.  94,  125  ;    ii.  514. 

Rawlinson,  General  Lord,  G.C.B., 
G.C.V.O.,  K.C.M.G.,  i.  20,  82, 
104,  254,  256,  259,  260,  261,  270, 
308,  393,  423,  523,  524,  608  ;  ii.  55, 
80,  132,  202,  260,  317,  352,  358, 
366,  367,  407,  465,  486,  489,  525. 

Rayleigh,  Lord,  J.P.,  D.C.L.,  etc., 
and  Lady,  i.  132. 

Reache,  M.  Gerville,  ii.  460. 

Read,  Major,  ii.  390. 

Reading,  Earl  of,  G.C.B.,  K.C.V.O., 
i.  212  ;  ii.  284,  378,  381,  382. 
412,  529. 

,  Countess  of,  ii.  326,  529. 

Redmond,  John,  M.P.,  i.  444. 

Reich,  Dr.,  i.  33. 

Reid,  Mrs.  Whitelaw,  i.  275,  309, 
310,  572,  573  ;   ii.  204. 

Reinach,  M.  Joseph,  i.  253,  551. 

Renault,  MM.,  i.  552. 

Renouard,  Colonel,  i.  156,  545. 

Reuter,  Mr.,  i.  476. 

Reventlow,  Count,  i.  324. 

Rhondda,  Viscount,  ii.  45,  106,  107, 
147,  240,  252,  328. 

Ribblesdale,  Lord,  i.  88,  107,  203, 
452;  ii.  144,  235,  316,  513,  528,530, 


NAME  INDEX 


575 


Ribot,  M..  i.  417.  482.  514,  541.  544. 
548.  550,  558,  562  n..  AT 4.  686; 
ii.  76,  77.  214. 
Ricardo.  Colonel,  ii.  333. 
Richardson.  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  (ieorge 
Llovd  Refiy,  K.C.B..  CLE.,  i. 
281*;   ii.  166. 

,     Ladv     Constance    Stewart-. 

i.  410. 
Richthoven.  Baron  von.  ii.  280. 
Ridley,   Rosamund.   Viscountess,  i. 
.v.."  60,    66,    27.">.    356,    368,    402, 
409,  413.  441.  450.  473.  492.  495, 
570,  575,  587.  692,  600,  612,  618  : 
ii.  2.  3.  36,  127.  128.  141.  151,  177, 
232.  244,  245.  316,  318.  479,  529. 
Rigden.  Mrs.,  h.  316,  327. 
Ripon,  Marquess  of,  G.C.V.O..  i.  80, 
370,  399,  406  ;  ii.  126. 

,  Marchioness  of ,  i.  80,  103,  279, 

370,  399,  406  ■  ii.  120. 
Rivers,  Miss.  ii.  354. 
Robert,    Mr.    and    Mrs.    Arthur,    ii. 

303,  310,  324,  482. 
Robert-;.  Mr.,  i.  .">7.  406. 

,  Captain,  i.  202. 

Roberts  of  Kandahar.  Field  Marshal 
Earl.  KG.,  etc..  i.  25.  26,  6]  ;  ii. 
171.  178.  306,  343.  52  1. 
Robertson, Field-Marshal  Sir  William 
(R.),  G.C.B.,  G.C.M.G.,  K.C.V.O., 
D.S.O.,  i.  27.  48-51,  70,  76,  88, 
90-8,  96,  98,  99-101,  110,  116-20, 
I2i',.  129.  133.  134.  143,  146,  149, 
152.  154,  168.  180-2,  185-8,  192, 
198-8,  202,  204-7,  214,  215,  240, 
254,  275,  279,  281,  285,  294,  295, 
297,  2'.i*.  2'.<'.i.  302.  308,  309.  323-5. 
328,  329,  330.  333,  335.  345-7,  350, 
361  A   357-61,   367,    371, 

376,  376-8,  386,  392,  393,  404-8, 
410,413,417-21,  420.  429, 430,  431, 
441.  11'.'.  450,  454,  457-61,  10  t. 
473.  479,  483,  487-9,  499,  601, 
503,  .",(i7.  609,  610,  618  16,  640, 
545.  550  ii,  558-01,  569,  570,  533, 
589,  590,  691,  606,  606,  618; 
ii.  1,  14-16,  19,  28-31,  37.  50,  51, 
68,  64    I  73,81,  86,  100, 

101,  106  '.'.  127.  LSI,  132.  134,  L38, 
I  10,  1  13,  i  16  7.  L62,  168  60,  L76, 
178.    I  vi.    196,    198,    201,    21 

■   231,  234,  236,  246, 

247,  261,  266,  21,2.  .  -   291, 

-.  300,  318,  821,  330,  344, 

..  867,  377,  1 19,  167,  182, 

I     5  1 11. 

616,  680, 
,  Lady,  L    188,  279,    W0,  618, 

VOL.    11.  2P 


677  ;    ii.   60,  266,  262,  300,  344. 
166,  467,  506,  508,  528. 
Robey,  Mr.  George,  ii.  346,  516. 

Robilant.   General    Di,   i.   222.   223, 

240.   247  :    ii.   426. 
Robinson,  Lieutenant,  i.  336. 

,  Mr.,  ii.  302. 

,  Mr.  Geoffrey  (afterwards  Daw  - 

son),  i.  20,  55.  58,  112,  143, 
214,  325.  339,  348,  364,  367,  378. 
399,  400.  420,  421,  434.  477,  550, 
665. 

,  Mr.   Perrv.   i.   261,    262,    434; 

ii.  162. 

,  Lieut. -Col.    Sir     Thomas    B., 

K.C.M.G.,  K.B.E.,  ii.  106,  107. 
Rocho,  M.  Jules,  i.  217  ;    ii.  225 
Rocke,    Lieut. -Colonel    Cyril    Alan. 
D.S.O.,  ii.  432-5,  437.  448,  478. 

,  Mrs.,  ii.  434,  478. 

Rockefeller.   John   Davison,   i.    133, 

138. 
Rocksavage,  Countess  of,  i.  452,  453, 

602  ;    ii.  298. 
Rodd.   Rt.    Hon.   Sir  Jas.    Rennoll. 
G.C.M.G.,  G.C.V.O.,  etc.,  i.  223  ; 
h.  433.  434,  443. 

,  Lady,  ii.  449. 

,  Mr.  Rennoll.  i.  223. 

Rodnov,  Lady,  ii.  353. 
Roell,  Colonel,  i.  430. 
Roffi,  General,  i.  241. 
Rogers,  Brig. -General,  ii.  87. 
Rohr,  General  von,  i.  226. 
Romanones,  Signor,  ii.  308. 
Roosevelt,  Colonel  Theodore,  i.  141, 

310  ;   ii.  245. 
Root,  Hon.  Elihu.  i.  310. 
Roques,  General,  i.   169.  170. 
Rosebery,  Earl  of,  K.G.,  K .  I '..  eta, 

i.  383  ;   ii.  244. 
Rosen,  Baron,  i.  43(.t. 
Rosenborg,    Prince    Aga,    of     Den* 

mark.   ii.    212. 
Ros?,    Professor    Sir     B.     Denison, 
K'  .  CLE.,  etc,  i.  193,  194,  286, 
.  312,  343,  344,  485;   ii   I  18, 
171. 

,  Mrs.,  ii.  1 19. 

Roaslyn,  Earl  of,  ii.  615 
Rotbenstein,    Kir.   William,   L    178, 
210,  308  :  ii  294. 

,  Mrs.,  i.  188,  210. 

Rothermere,  Lord,  i.  342,  85 1  .    Ii. 

288,  286, 
Rothaohild,   tit  -  n  -  .   ii 

,  Baron  Jamet    \.  da,  u     ■  1 1 

,  Baroo  liaurioa  do,  i,  MX 

ii.  i    884  6. 


576 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Rothschild,  Baroness  Maurice  de,  ii. 

386. 
Roure,  Colonel,  ii.  356,  368,  370,  406, 

423. 
Rousset,  Colonel,  ii.  194. 
Routhe,  Lieutenant,  i.  224. 
Rouvier,  M.,  i.  6. 
Roxburghe,    Major    the    Duke    of, 

K.T.,  M.V.O.,  i.  581. 
,  Duchess   of,   i.    288,  381  ;    ii. 

143,  522. 
Rubens,   Mr.   and  Mrs.   Walter,   ii. 

312. 
Ruggeri,  General  Laderchi,  i.   241. 
Rumbold,  Mr.  Horace  A.  C,  i.  193, 

194. 
Runciman,  Rt.  Hon.  Walter,  M.P., 

i.  99,  103,  136,  144,  191,  364,  365, 

419,  463. 
Rundle,  General  Sir  (H.  M.)  Leslie, 

G.C.B.,       G.C.M.G.,       G.C.V.O., 

D.S.O.,  etc.,  i.  110. 
,  Colonel  George  R.  T.,  C.B.,  i. 

272. 
Runisky-Korsakov,  ii.  345. 
Rupprecht,  Prince,  ii.  345,  352. 
Ruspoli,  Princess,  i.  223. 
Russell,     Brig. -General     the     Hon. 

A.  V.  F.  V.,  C.M.G.,  M.V.O.,  ii. 

360. 

,  Brig. -General,  ii.   87. 

Ruszky,  General,  i.  79. 

Rutland,  Duke  of,  K.G.,  i.  194,  202, 

203,  286  ;    ii.  495. 
,  Duchess  of,  i.    188,   194,  325, 

327,  334,  335,  508  ;    ii.  264,  328, 

345,  513. 
Ryan,  Captain,  R.N.,  ii.  12. 

,  Colonel,  ii.  533. 

Rycroft,  Miss  Magdalen,  ii.  10,  22. 

Sabatiek,  M.,  ii.  203. 
Sacharov,  General,  i.  245  n. 
Sackville,  Lady,  i.  379  ;    ii.  501. 
St.    Albans,    Duchess    of,    ii.    493, 

494. 
St.     Aubyn,     Captain     the     Hon. 

Lionel  M.,  M.V.O.,  ii.  98. 
St.  Davids,  Viscount,  i.  247. 
St.  George,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  i.  399. 

,  Mrs.,  i.  566. 

St.  Helier,  Lady,  ii.  293. 

St.   Levan,   Colonel    Lord,    C.V.O., 

C.B.,  ii.  98. 
Sala,  Count,  i.  357. 
Salis,  Count  de,  ii.  31,  211,  371,  372, 

432,  436,  439,  442,  443,  444,  448, 

451,  453,  455. 
Salisbury,   Maj.-Gen.  the  Marquess 


of,  K.G.,  G.C.V.O.,  C.B.,  i.  616  ; 

ii.  49,  229,  319. 
Salisbury,  Marchioness  of .  i.  67,  124, 

616. 
Salmond,   Maj.-Gen.    Sir   John   M., 

K.C.B.,  C.M.G.,  C.V.O.,  D.S.O., 

i.  374  ;    ii.  97,  361,  363,  535. 
Salverte,  Comtesse  Jeanne  de,  ii.  86, 

97,  372,  400,  460,  543,  547. 
Samuel,  Rt.  Hon.  Herbert  L.,  M.P., 

i.  102,  364. 
Sandford,  Commander  FrancisHugh, 

D.S.O.,  ii.  288. 
San  Martino,  Lieut. -Col.  Ponza  di, 

ii.  416,  418,  421,  427,  429,  430. 

,  Mme.  de,  i.  551. 

Sargent,  J.  S.,  R.A.,  i.  441  ;   ii.  298, 

525. 
Sarrail,  General,  i.  49,  70,  197,  201, 

215,  217,  313,  321,  323,  325,  346, 

371,  400,  404,  418,  420,  429.  434, 

478,  486,  490,  600  ;    ii.  2,  47,  59, 

61,  151,  242,  250. 
Sassoon,  Major  Sir  Philip  (A.  G.  D.), 

Bt.,  C.M.G.,  M.P.,  i.  122,  427,  513, 

535,  584  ;    ii.  100,  101,  460. 
Sayer,  Dr.  Ettie,  i.  389. 
Sazonoff,  M.,  i.  174,  193,  440,  509. 
Scaravaglio,  Captain,  ii.  416. 
Scarbrough,  Maj.-Gen.  the  Earl  of, 

K.C.B.,  i.  182,  203,  305,  307,  436, 

441,  468,  493,  584,  587  ;    ii.  147, 

181,  256,  293,  304,  316,  448,  482, 

494,  495,  499,  516. 
,  Countess  of,  i.  182,  203.  305-7, 

436,  441,  493,  584,  587  ;    ii.   128, 

147,  181,  256,  293,  304,  316,  482, 

494,  497. 
Scherbaceff,  General,  i.  245  ro. 
Schiek,  Major,  ii.  346. 
Schneider,  M.,  ii.  306. 
Sclater,     General     Sir    Henry    C, 

G.C.B.,  G.B.E.,  i.  23,  43,  98,  139. 
Scott,  Captain,  ii.  360. 
,  Mr.  Charles  Prestwich,  i.  146, 

147  ;   ii.  127. 

,  Lord  and  Lady  Francis,  ii.  8. 

,  Lady  (Kathleen),  i.  463. 

,  Peter,  i.  463. 

,  Major  Sir  Samuel,  Bt.,  M.P., 

i.  56,  282,  289,  491,  513  ;    ii.   12, 

126,  162,  171. 

,  Mr.  Walter,  i.  496,  497  ;  ii.  132. 

Scovell,    Lieut. -Col.    George   J.    S., 

C.B.E.,  i.  605. 
Secco,  General,  i.  241. 
Sedgwick,  Mrs.,  i.  183. 
Seely,     Maj.-Gen.     the    Rt.    Hon. 

J.  E.  B.,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  etc.,  i.  20. 


NAME  INDEX 


577 


Segato.  General,  i.  241. 

Selborne.  Earl  of,  K.6.,  etc..  li.  319. 

Selfridtre,  Mr.,  ii.  348. 

Serrigny,  Colonel,  L  547.  548  ;  ii-  69. 

Seton-Wataan,  Mr.  EL  \\\.  ii.  826. 

Sevastopoulo.   M..  i.   -Jon.   201.   220, 

863,  882,  609,  641  ;    ii.  69,  402. 
Sevmour,    Major    Edward,    D.S.O., 
O.B.E.,  M.V.O.,  i.  446,  488. 

,  Lieutenant,  ii.  616. 

Shallenberger,  Captain,  ii.  87. 
Shannon.  J.  J.,  K.A..  ii.   322.   328, 

626. 
Shaw,  Lieut. -Gen.  the  Ht.   Hon.  Sir 
Frederick  C.  K.l    B.,  i.  110,  138, 
139,  295  ;    ii.  38.  161,  300. 
Sheffield,  Colonel,  i.  106. 
Sheldon.  Mr.,  i.  828. 
Sheridan.  Mrs.,  i.  866,  412  ;    ii.  298, 

518.  619,  621. 
Shrewsbury,     Major    the    Earl    of, 

K.C.V.O.,  i.   131. 
Shrinskv.  Count,  ii.  220. 
Sibert,  General,  ii.  88,  94,  95. 
Sillem,   Maj.-Gen.    Arnold   F.,  C.B., 

i.  269,  628  ;   ii.  531,  635. 
Simon.  Major  the  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  John 
A    .    K.»    V.O.,    O.B.E.,  K.C.,   i. 
83-5.  102,  107,   114.    136.  388. 
ode,  Mr.,  i.  140-2,  275. 
Bims,  Vice-Adm.  W.  8.,  L  561,  662  ; 

ii.  190.  244,  292,  337,  841,  r>07. 
Sinclair,     Lieut. -Col.     Sir    Walrond 
A.  F..  K.B.E.,  i.  811. 

•  11.  Captain  F.  O.  EL,  L  314. 
.  I'rinco.  de  Bourbon,  ii.  4<i2. 
.11.  Mr.  William,  i.  142. 
■  doudris.  M..  i.  172. 
Skeffington-Smvth,  Major  G.  H.  J., 

D.S.O..  ii.  378. 
Sloan,  Tod.  i.  537. 
Slocum.  <  loloneL  i.  303,  32  1. 
Bmillie,  Mr.  Robert,  ii  242. 
Sniirno\-,  Qeneral,  1   846 
Bmith,  Brig.  General,  ii  392. 

,  Mr..  1.    127 

,  Lt.-Col.  Sir  Jamea  EL  Dunlop, 

K  I   B.L,  ELC.V.O.,  CLE.,  L  76. 

,  Mr.  Harold,  ii.  2-3. 

,  Mr.  Ma  terton  ,  L  188,  513. 

Borate,  I.  1 M    I torn.  J.  0., 

i.   372,   601,  515,  618,  517,  670, 

..  -.17.  618  :   ii    I  ••■  H'7. 

18  ..    I''... 

i,   Mr-    Etalph,  L  69,  ho.   1 L5, 

487. 

I  liornnh    1  >  <  ivlv, 

K.»   r.      1.  <   M.G.,   1 

267,  268,  289,  588  ;    ii  321. 


Sobanski,  Count,  ii.  493.  543.  544. 

Soldatieakofi,  M.,  ii.  518. 

Bolf,  Dr..  ii.  484 

Sollv-Flood,       Brig.-Gen.       Arthur. 

C.M.G.,  D.S.O..  ii.  406. 
Somerset,  Lady  Katherine  de  V.,  i. 
69,    102.   344,   604  ;    ii.    143,    188, 
234,  343.  344.  482. 
Bonnino,    Baron,  i.   222.   223.    12  1  ; 

ii.  434.  436,  448,  519. 
Sophie.  H.M.  Queen  of  the  Hellenes, 

ii.  384.  407. 
Southborough,         Lord,         G.C.B., 
G.C.M.G.,  G.C.V.O.,  i.   390,  430, 
667,  568,  600  ;   ii.  448. 
Soveral,     H.E.     the     Marquis     de, 
G.C.M.G.,    G.C.V.O.,    i.    80.    103, 
121.  282.  288,  302,  317.  343  ;    ii. 
498,  497. 
Spicer,  Captain  S.  D.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  22, 

23. 
Spiers,    Brig.-Gen.    E.    L.,    C.B.E.. 

CM.,  ii.  65,  202.  368.  410. 
Spring-Rice,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Cecil  A., 
G.C.M.G.,  G.C.V.O.,  i.  141. 

,  Hon.  Thomas  A.,  ii.  364. 

Stacey.  Mr.,  ii.  328. 
Stiuiifordham,      Lieut. -Col.      Lord, 
G.C.B.,  G.C.I.E.,  etc..  i.  89,  382. 
Stanley,   Hon.    Sir   Arthur.    G.B.E., 
CM..  M.V.O..  i.  69,  428.  478,  616, 
617  ;    ii.  348,  529. 

,  Brig.-Gen.  Lord  Edward.  MI'., 

i.  588.  617. 

,  Brig.-Gen.    the    Hon.    F.    C. 

C.M.G.,   D.S.O.,   i.    170;    ii.    183, 
502. 

,  Hon.  Mrs.  (F.  C),  i.  170.   196; 

ii.  183. 

,  Rear-Adm.  the  Hon.  Victor  A., 

C.B.,  M.Y.o..  1.  616-17. 

,  Hon.  Mrs.  Victor,  i.  618. 

,  Mrs.,  i.   120,  491. 

Sliumiotv,   Lord.   i.   368. 

Steed,  Mr.  11.  Wirkimm.  i.  B4,  1  15, 

177,  388,  381,  421,   124,   HT.  603, 

620  ;    ii.   126,   127. 
Steel-Maithmd.  Sir  Arthur  II    D   EL, 

Rt.,  1.  02,  435. 
Bteei  '-ii -.      Mm|.  <  (en.     sir      John, 

K.C.I'...  K.C.M.C  .  i 
Stephens,    Lieul .  t  lea.    Bit    EL    EL, 

K  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  i.  38,  631,  688. 
Btepheneon,  Mr.,  L  64 

.  Lieut.  <  oi.  Sir  Albert,  ELB.E., 

C.M.O.,  ii   882,  11  1 
Stewart,  Mr.,  ii  1 18 

, ,  Captain,  I 

Stirling,  LieuL-CoL  John  Uei  mder, 


578 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


D.S.O.,  i.  107,  359,  436,  462,  473, 

476,  503,  608  ;   ii.  502,  522. 
Stoeckl,  Mme.,  ii.  348. 
Stonor,  Hon.  Edward   and   Mrs.,  i. 

108. 
Stopford,  Lieut. -Gen.  the  Hon.  Sir 

F.  W.,  K.C.M.G.,  K.C.V.O.,  C.B., 

i.  81,  105. 
Stout,   Captain  Percy  W.,   D.S.O., 

O.B.E.,  i.  63. 
Strachey,  Mr.  John  St.  Loe,  i.  100. 
Strafford,  Countess  of,   i.    78,    129, 

199,  286,  301,  410,  433,  615,  616  ; 

ii.  46,  341. 
Straker,  Mr.,  i.  587. 
Street,  George  SM  i.  76  ;    ii.  199. 
Strickland, Maj. -Gen.  Sir  Edward  P., 

K.C.B.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  535. 
Stuart,    Sir    Campbell,    K.B.E.,    ii. 

237. 

,  Colonel,  i.  76,  86  ;   ii.  176. 

Sturdee,  Admiral  Sir  F.  C.  Doveton, 

Bt.,  K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,  C.V.O.,  i. 

192-3. 
Sturmer,  M.,  i.  125,  399  ;   ii.  210. 
Sueter,    Commodore    M.    F.,    C.B., 

R.N.,  i.  205,  208,  209,  210. 
Sukhomlinoff,  General,  ii.  37. 
Sutherland,  Colonel  the  Duke  of,  i. 

73,  539,   601  ;    ii.    128,  319,  433, 

494. 
,  Duchess   of,  i.   85,    145,   293, 

540,  601  ;   ii.  204,  356,  494. 
,  Millicent,  Duchess  of,  i.  211  ; 

ii.  139,  232. 
Sutton,    Captain    Sir    Richard    V., 

M.C.,  i.  524. 
Swaine,  Colonel  Charles  E.,  C.B.,  i. 

75. 
Swettenham,  Sir  Frank  A.,G.C.M.G., 

i.  460  ;   ii.  306,  514. 
Swinderen,  H.E.   Jonkheer   Dr.   E. 

de  Marees  van,  i.  88,  111,  314,  315, 

415,  423,  424,  430,  433,  459  ;    ii. 

108,  109,  294,  295,  297. 

,  Mme.  van,  i.  88,  295,  297. 

Swinton,  Maj. -Gen.  Ernest  D.,  C.B., 

D.S.O.,  i.  27,  430  ;   ii.  411,  412. 
Sydenham,  Lord,  G.C.S.I.,  G.C.M.G., 

G.C.I.E.,G.B.E.,F.R.S.,i.  4,5, 11. 
Sydney,  Mr.  Basil,  ii.  517. 
Sykes,  Air  Vice-Marshal  Sir  F.  H., 

G.B.E.,   K.C.B.,   C.M.G.,   i.    142, 

144  ;   ii.  127,  362. 
,  Colonel  Sir  Mark,  Bt.,  M.P., 

i.  182,  190,  335,  563,  615  ;  ii.  258, 

347,  471. 
,  Lady,  i.  182  ;   ii.  258,  347. 


Tagore,    Sir     Rabindranath,    Kt., 

i.  210. 
Talbot,    Lieut. -Col.    the    Rt.    Hon. 

Lord     Edmund     3.,       G.C.V.O., 

D.S.O.,  M.P.,  i.  83,  85,  403. 
,  Lady    Edmund,    i.    83,    85  ; 

ii.  7,  235. 
,      Maj. -Gen.     the     Hon.     Sir 

Reginald  A.  J.,  K.C.B.,  and  Lady, 

i.  605. 
Tardieu,  M.,  ii.  77,  396. 
Tassoni,  General,  i.  241. 
Taylor,  Mrs.,  ii.  334. 

,  Colonel  Pitt-,  i.  524. 

Tedeschini,  Monsignore,  ii.  402,  428, 

432,  450. 
Temple,  Lieut. -Col.  Sir  R.  C,  Bt., 

C.B.,  CLE.,  i.  441. 

,  Mr.,  ii.  313. 

Tennant,  Rt.  Hon.  H.  J.,  M.P.,  i.  40, 

57,    113. 
Teotaki,  M.,  ii.  407. 
Terry,  Miss  Ellen,  ii.  517. 
Tettoni,  General,  i.  241. 
Theil,  P.C.,  ii.  485. 
Thelluson,  Hon.  Percy  E.,  i.  279. 
Thierry,  M.,  i.  574. 
Thomas,  Rt.  Hon.  J.  H„  M.P.,  ii. 

242. 
,  M.  Albert,  i.  77,  117,  308,  378, 

417,   420,    427,    482,    485-7,    499. 

507,  544,  586  ;    ii.   108,  150,  409. 
Thompson,  Colonel,  ii.  334. 
Thomson,  M.,  i.  6. 
,  Colonel  Sir  Courtauld,  K.B.E., 

C.B.,  ii.  433,  434,  438. 
Thurlow,  Mr.,  ii.  5. 
Thurstan,   Miss  Violetta,   M.M.,   ii. 

233. 
Thurston,    Commander    N.    M.    C, 

D.S.O.,  i.  205. 
Thwaites,    Maj. -Gen.    Sir    William, 

K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  ii.  400. 
Thynne,     Lieut. -Col.     Lord     Alex- 
ander, D.S.O.,  M.P.,  i.  368,  397, 

399. 
Tice,  Miss,  ii.  523. 
Tilak,  i.  300. 
Titchfield,  Captain  the  Marquess  of, 

ii.  276. 
,  Marchioness  of,   i.    587,  601  ; 

ii.  257,  529. 
Tonks,  Mr.  Henry,  ii.  298. 
Torby,  Countess,  i.   195,  411,   509, 

578,  587,  614  ;    ii.   2,  37,  45,  176, 

334,  336. 

,  Count  Michael,  ii.  12,  21,  183. 

,  Countess  Nada,  i.    195,   411  ; 

ii.  21. 


NAME  INDEX 


579 


Torby,    Countess  Zia,    i.    195.   411, 

587;  ii.  2,  21. 
Townley,  Sir  Walter  B.,  K.C.M.G.. 

i.  424,  431. 

,  Lady  Susan  M.,  L  431. 

Townroe,  Captain,  ii.  360. 
Townahend,    Maj.-Gen.   Sir  Charles 

V.  P.,  K.C.B.,  D.S.O.,  i.  70,  80,  84. 

111.  lit'.,  us.  132,  136,  143.  L76, 

1st.  287,  289,  320  ;   ii.  470-8,  480. 

,  Lady.  i.  86,  B7,  111,  L16,  143, 

289,  576  :   ii.  480. 
Trafford,  Ladv  de,  i.   64,   114,   195, 

■203.  27._>.  411,  581  ;    ii.  299,  315, 
182,  515. 

Major  Denys  R.,   ii.   515. 
,  Lt.-Col.  the  Hon.  Walter  A., 

i.  89. 
Trenchard.  Air-Marshal  Sir  Hugh  M., 

K.C.B.,    D.S.O.,    i.    520,     536-8; 

ii.  64,  97,  98,  102,  237,  273,  277, 
;.  285,  292,  361,  363,  389,  398, 

4  70. 
Trepoff,  ML,  i.  399,  424. 
Trevor,  Mr.  Leo,  ii.  508,  514. 

,  Captain  Keith,  i.  572. 

Trotter,  Captain,  ii.  34. 

Trumel,  M.,  ii.  68. 

Tsar  of  Russia,  H.I.M.  Nicholas  n., 

i.   18,  78,  94,   124,  125,  146,  147, 

379,  424,  439,  442,  443,  494,  496, 

497,  509  ;    ii.   106,  349,  514. 
Taaritea,  H.I.M.  the.  i.  94,  125,  494, 

196,  509  ;    ii.  413. 
Tschirschky,  Herr  von,  ii.  492. 
Tulloch,  Miss,  ii.  334. 
Tuohy,  Mr.,  ii.  199. 
Turin,  Count  of,  i.  338. 
Turkey,  Sultan  of,  ii.  328. 
Turner,  Mrs.,  ii.  34. 

,  Mr.  Alfred,  i.  401. 

Tweeddale,  Marchioness  of,  ii.  293. 
Tweedmouth,  Major  Lord,  C.M.G., 

D.S.O.,  M.V.O.,  i.  390;    ii.  23. 
TwiflS,  Lieut. -Col.  John  H.,  C.B.,  i. 

338,  339,  342. 
Tyrrell,  Sir  William  G.,  K.C.M  G .. 

C.B.,    i.    473  ;     ii.    357,    463,    478, 

542. 

,  Major,  i.  33. 

1  .  rwhitt,  Reiir-Ailni.   Sir   K-ginald, 

Bt.,    K.CI'...    D.8.O.,  i.   579  ;    ii. 

15,    IS.   38-44,  289,  486. 

i    ram,  Miss  Gladys,  ii.  129,  182. 
i       •.    Dnchesse    d',    ii.    210,     211, 
220. 

iitii  r.  Colonel,  ii.  n**.  H8. 


Vallombrosa,  Count  Paul  de,  ii.  382. 
Vanderberg,   General,   i.    549. 
Vandervelde,  M..  i.  218,  356. 

.  Mine.,   i.    176.    183.   210,   356, 

^7  ;    ii.  133,  294.  354. 
Vane-Tempest.  Lord  Herbert  L.  EL, 

K.C.V.O..  i.  293,  466  ;   ii.  133. 
Vansittart,  Robert  Q.,  M.V.O.,  i.  80, 

193,  L94,  282,  289,  311,  375,  471, 

598;    ii.  26,  306,  313,  344. 
Venizelos,  M..  i.  172  ;   ii.  5.  137,  138, 

178.  542. 
Verez,  Mile,  de,  ii.  77. 
\        . ,  Colonel,  i.  27 
Vettori,  Signor  Vittorio,  ii.  446,  449. 
Villiers,  Lieut. -Col.  Charles,  i.   610. 

,  Mr.  H.,  ii.   183,  201. 

Vivian.  Lt.-Col.  Valentine,  C.M.G.. 

D.S.O.,  i.  524,  536. 
Viviani,  M.,  i.  49,  52,   171  »..  587; 

ii.  70,  78,  150,  217. 
Von  Donop,  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  Stanley, 

K.C.B.,  i.  77,  117,  286;    ii.  52.* 
Vyse,  Brig. -Gen.  R.  G.  H.  Howard-, 

C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  ii.    116. 


Waghorn,  Brig. -Gen.  William   D., 

C.B.,  C.M.G.,  i.   I  14. 
WagstafT,      Brig. -Gen.      Cyril     M., 

C.M.G.,  CLE.,  D.S.O.,  ii.  87,  89, 

104,  388,  393,  399,  403,  404. 
Walden,  Colonel  Lord  Howard  de, 

ii.  141. 
Walker,  Colonel,  i.  86  ;   ii.  90. 
,  Bits.    Hall    (afterwards    Lady 

Wavertroe),  ii.  507,  518,  519. 
Walklev,     Mr.     Arthur      Bingham, 

ii.    188. 
Wallace,  Lady  Idina,  ii.  299,  327. 
Wallis,  Captain  Hugh  M..   D.S.O., 

i.  434. 
Walter,  Mr.  Godfrey,  ii.  503. 

,  Mr.  Hubert,  i.  170. 

,  Mr.  John,  i.  86  ;    ii.  503. 

Wantage,  Rt,   Hon.   Lady,  R.R.C., 

i.  21. 
Wanless    O'Gowan,     Major-Genera! 

Robert,  C.B.,  O.M.G.,  i.  260. 
Ward,  Eon.  Robert  A..  L  266,  519  . 

ii.  201,  22r,,  226,  176. 

,  Command. >r  the  Son.  ( *\  ril  A.. 

M.V.O.,  ii.   127. 

.Lieut.  Col. John, O.M.Q.,  M.P., 

i.  102 
,  Mrs.,  i.  286,  269,  897  ;  U.  334 

,  Lady,  ii.  204 

Wards,  George  James,  Mi'.,  i.  290. 
,  etajot  and  lbs.,  ii.  101 


5«o 


THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


Ware,   Maj.-Gen.    Fabian    (A.   G.), 

C.M.G.,  ii.  76. 
Warre,  Mr.,  i.  337,  452,  581. 
Warrender,  Lady  Maud,  i.  400. 
Warwick,  Captain,  ii.  392. 
Washburn,  Mr.   Stanley,  i.   78,   79, 

177. 
Waterman,  Mrs.,  i.  248,  249,  338. 
Waters,     Brig. -Gen.     W.,     C.M.G., 

C.V.O.,  i.  252. 
Watt,    Lieut.-Col.     Alexander     F., 

D.S.O.,  i.  27,  127. 
Watts,     Lieut.-Gen.     Sir     H.     E., 

K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,  ii.  268. 
Weardale,  Lord,  i.  114. 
Webber,  Lt.-Col.  Norman  William, 

ii.  256. 
Wedel,  Baron,  i.  551,  552. 
Wedgwood,  Commander  J.,  D.S.O., 

M.P.,  i.  463,  464,  466,  612. 
Weir,  Lord,  ii.  283,  362. 
Wells,  Mr.  H.  G.,  i.  210,  340,  462  ; 

ii.  188,  293,  294,  518. 
Wemyss,  Earl  of,  D.L.,  i.  602  ;   ii. 
144,  201,  315. 

■ ,  Vice-Adm.    Sir  Bosslyn  (now 

Lord  Wester  Wemyss),  G.C.B., 
C.M.G.,  M.V.O.,  ii.  157,  158,  171, 
177,  188,  245. 

,  Lady  Lilian,  ii.  502. 

V/ernher,  Captain  Harold,  i.  587. 

,  Lady,  i.  587. 

Westbury,  Lord,  i.  60. 
Westminster,  Duchess  of,  i.  98,  195, 

574  ;   ii.  326,  327,  334. 
Weygand,  General,  i.  263,  555  ;    ii. 
56,  59,  65,  66,  145,  209,  266,  369, 
370,  374,  381,  458. 
Whibley,   Mr.  Charles,  M.A.,  i.   75, 

448,  487,  507. 
Whigham,    Maj.-Gen.     Sir    Robert 
Dundas,    K.C.B.,    D.S.O.,    i.    93, 
278,  433,  441,  498;    ii.  51,   198, 
281    535. 
White,  Mrs.  Grahame-,  i.   68,  204, 

205,  370. 
Whitmore,  Mr.,  ii.  349. 
Wiart,  M.  Carton  de,  i.  288,  491. 

,  Mme.  Carton  de,  i.  491. 

Wiborg,  Miss,  i.  280,  293. 
Wigram,    Lieut.-Col.     Clive,     C.B. 

C.V.O.,  ii.  134. 
Wilberforce,    Brig. -Gen.     Sir    Her 
bert  W.,  K.B.E.,  C.B.,   C.M.G. 
ii.  201. 
Wilde,  Jimmy,  ii.  292. 
Wilhelmina,   H.M.    Queen,   i.    199 

ii.  37,  296. 
WiUcocks,  Gen.  Sir  James,  G.C.M.G. 


K.C.B.,  K.C.S.I.,  i.  105,  114,  115, 
127,  128,  133,  135,  432,  526. 

Williams,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hwfa,  i.  314, 
315. 

,  General,  ii.  87. 

Williamson,  Sir  Hedworth,  Bt.,  ii. 
316,  318. 

Willoughby,  Lady  Florence,  i.  411, 
495  ;  ii.  144,  195,  494,  505. 

Wilmot,  Miss,  i.  397,  517,  518. 

Wilson,  Admiral  Sir  Arthur  K.,  Bt., 
V.C.,  G.C.B.,  etc.,  i.  4,  209. 

,  Lieut.-Col.     A.     H.     Hutton, 

D.S.O.,  i.  258. 

,  Mrs.  Arthur,  i.  282  ;    ii.  6. 

,  Brig.-Gen.  F.  M.,  C.B.,  C.M.G., 

ii.  535. 

,  H.  W.,  i.  422. 

,  Lieut.-Gen.  Sir  Henry  F.  M., 

K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,  i.  357. 

,  Field-Marshal  Sir  H.  Hughes, 

G.C.B.,  D.S.O.,  i.  541,  551,  559  ; 
ii.  129,  130,  132,  178,  180,  193, 
203,  219,  263,  301,  370. 

,  J.  Havelock,  C.B.E.,  M.P.,  ii. 

128. 

,  Lieut.-Col.  Sir  Mathew  Pv.  H., 

Bt.,  D.S.O.,  C.S.I.,  M.P.,  i.  313, 
314,  478,  487,  492,  566  ;   ii.  504. 

,  Lady,  i.  487,  492. 

,  Miss  Muriel  (Mrs.  Warde),  i. 

211,  282,  310,  317  ;  ii.  2,  3,  334, 
399,  402. 

,  Lady     Sarah,     R.R.C.,     and 

Lady  of  Grace,  St.  John  of  Jeru- 
salem, i.  87,  88,  92,  93,  107,  140, 
201,  211,  312,  313,  406,  407,  411, 
424,  433,  438,  479,  572,  573,  590  ; 
ii.  32,  34,  304,  324,  326,  352-4, 
469,  478,  482,  501,  503,  507, 
529. 

Wilson,  Captain  Stanley,  M.P.,  i.  37, 
38,  211,  282;   ii.  527. 

,  Mrs.  Stanley,  ii.  353,  512,  514. 

,  Woodrow,      Ph.D.,      Litt.D., 

LL.D.,  President  of  the  U.S.A.,  i. 
124,  309,  310,  369,  413,  437,  582  ; 
ii.  36,  93,  94,  96,  140,  147,  148, 
177,  219,  227,  241,  264,  302,  336, 
347,  456,  459,  461,  463,  464,  465, 
466,  467,  468,  472,  474,  476,  478, 
487,  493,  495,  498,  500,  502,  505, 
509,  513,  515,  518,  519,  520,  522, 
525,  539,  541,  544,  545. 
Wilton,  Earl  of,  i.  412  ;  ii.  372. 
Wimborne,  Viscount,  i.  182,  276, 
301,  335,  337,  381,  411,  451,  453, 
457,  461,  476,  503,  578  ;  ii.  232, 
320. 


NAME  INDEX 


581 


Wimborne.  Visoountess,  i.  2 7 «>.  301, 

335.  3S1.  451.  453.  457,  461,  476, 

578,  601  ;    ii.  232,  320. 
Wingate,  Genual  Sir  (Francis)  R., 

G.C.B.,  G.C.V.O.,  i.  605  ;   ii.  606, 
I 
Winter,     Colonel,     C.B.,     C.M.G., 

D  B.O.,  i.  431. 
Wim. irbotham,  1. 1. -('.•!.  EL  St.  J.  I... 

C.M.G.,  D.8.O.,  i.  530-1. 
Wodehouse,    ICajox   sir    Frederick. 

K.(    B.,  K.C.V.O.,  ii.  106,  485. 
,  Lady,  L  497,  574.  575.  578  ; 

ii.  6,  46,  106,  126,  372. 

,  Miss  Joan.  ii.  77.   106,  4S2. 

-•■•.  M..  ii.  352. 
Wolkoff,  M..  i.  54,  66,  75.  86,  108, 

114.  126,  126,  L93,  194,  286,  366, 
B  I,  136,  140,  198,  500,  608,  566, 
I    .    586,    604  ;     ii.    27.    37,    1  11, 

1  12,  264,  271,  323,  346,   170,  512, 

521. 
Wolloott,  -Mr.,  i.   133,  137,  138,  140, 

141.   142. 
Wolodieoki,  Prinoe,  i.  193. 
Wolverton,  Lord,    D.L..    i.    83,   84, 

114  ;    ii.  476,  479. 
.  Lady,  i.  83,  84,  114,  203;    ii. 

2:::;.  298,  176,  179,  502. 
<.  .Mr.,  ii.  508. 

,  General  Leonard,  L  582;  ii.  L60. 

Woodrone,Brig.-Gen.Cbas.  Richard, 

ii.  85,  381. 
Woods,  Mr.,  i. 


\\.  >,>d  ward.  Maj. -Gen. Sir  Edward  M., 

K.G.M.G.,  C.B..  i.  303. 
Woronzow,  Countess,  i.  439. 
Worthington,  Lady,  ii.  519. 
Wrangel,    H.E.    Count,    i.     103  ;    ii. 

271,  354. 

.  Countess,  ii.  253.  271. 

Wright,  Maj.-Gen.,  ii.   196. 
Wynoh,  Father,  ii.  252. 

Wyndnam,  Mrs.  Percy,  i.  152. 

Yarborough,  Countoss  of,  i.  615. 
Yarde-Buller,   Brig.-Gen.   the  Hon. 

Henry,  OB.,   D.S.O.,   M.V.O.,  i. 

166,  169,  218,  Jul'.  108. 
Yeats,  W.  B.,  L  188.  210. 
Yermoloff,  General,   L26,   196,  443. 

ls3.  498,  588  :    ii.  262. 
Younger,  Sir  Robert  (Rt.  Hon.  Mr. 

Justi(v),  GB.lv,   ii.  344. 
,   Sir  George,  Bt..  M.l'..  i.  435. 

621. 
Yudenitch,  General,  i.  352,  484,  504, 

585. 
Yznaga.    Mile.    Emilie,    i.    552  ;    ii. 

3S4. 

Zaharoff,  Sir  Basil,  G.B.E.,  ii.  382, 

384,  519,  521. 
Zalicki,  M.,  ii.  493. 
Zeppelin,  Count,  i.  209. 
Zogheb,  Count  do,  i.  389,  393. 
Zoppi,  General,  i.  241. 
Zupelli,  Signor.  ii.   132.   137,  438. 


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